Abstract
Abstract Purpose Cold and temperate weather is known to support the COVID-19 outbreak. Study of the weather ranges in European countries, where the infection has a history of spreading rapidly, can be immensely beneficial for projecting the trends of the pandemic in the upcoming months in different countries which will experience similar weather conditions. Methods We collected weather data of all European countries on a daily basis during Jan 01, 2020 and Apr 19, 2020, and the corresponding data on infected and recovered cases. The distribution of cases was analyzed across the different ranges of absolute humidity (AH), which is a cumulative measure of temperature and relative humidity, and was found to be a good weather parameter for prediction of the spread in earlier studies. Results The spread of COVID-19 in Europe was significant during the study duration before the sharp decline in end of Apr, 2020. During this time, as the cases increased beyond 10,000, a majority of them were in countries experiencing AH of 3-9 g/m3, similar to worldwide observations. The cases which were in the AH range of 4-5 g/m3 were also observed to have high recovery rates in Apr, 2020. Both the spread and recovery trends were independent of the study duration. Conclusion The study helped confirm risky weather ranges of 3-9 g/m3 observed worldwide, in European countries. The results agree with the rise and fall trends of the spread in Europe until Apr, 2020. Also, some weather ranges with high recoveries were observed. This information cumulatively will help classify vulnerable regions around the world, where weather may possibly support the COVID-19 spread.
Highlights
The devastating coronavirus pandemic has led to 5.5 million cases of infections and 345,000 deaths worldwide, as of May 25, 2020 [1]
We studied the weather based distribution of coronavirus infection cases in Europe
During Jan 21-Jan 30, 2020, only 10 cases were reported in total, 9 out of which were in the countries lying in absolute humidity (AH) range of 5-6 g/m3 (Figure 2). 26 new cases were reported during Jan 31-Feb 09, 2020, out of which 19 cases were in countries experiencing AH in the range of 6-7 g/m3, 6 in AH range of 7-8 g/m3, and 1 was in AH range of 4-5 g/m3
Summary
The devastating coronavirus pandemic has led to 5.5 million cases of infections and 345,000 deaths worldwide, as of May 25, 2020 [1]. The spread has been confirmed widely in other non-European countries such as the US, Russia, Brazil, and India. Among these countries, the US is the worst affected, with over 1.6 million cases and 99,000 deaths reported to date. More than 100,000 cases have been reported already, with a minimum rate of increase of over 7000 cases/day. This critical situation warrants the study of trends about the outbreak to minimize the spread and maximize the recovery in the near future
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
