A persistent high ambient temperature waned the community spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 in Pakistan

G Habib; M Shah Zeb Khan; H Gul; A Hayat; M Ur Rehman

doi:10.1016/j.nmni.2022.100961

A persistent high ambient temperature waned the community spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 in Pakistan

New Microbes New Infect. 2022 Jan:45:100961. doi: 10.1016/j.nmni.2022.100961. Epub 2022 Jan 24.

Authors

G Habib¹, M Shah Zeb Khan², H Gul³, A Hayat¹, M Ur Rehman¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Microbiology, Abbottabad University of Science and Technology, Havelian Abbottabad, Pakistan.
² Institute of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Khyber Medical University, Peshawar, Pakistan.
³ College of Animal Science and Technology, Anhui Agricultural University, No. 130 Changjiang West Road, Hefei, 230036, China.

Abstract

The recent pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) has increased the global concern over its transmission and prevention. Since there was an incontrovertible perception that environmental conditions might affect the spread of SARS-CoV-2, we analyzed the environmental variables impact on SARS-CoV-2 transmission in Pakistan. Our analytical study revealed that when the temperature remained high for consecutive 10 to 15 days, a significant decrease is witnessed in the forthcoming week in the COVID-19 cases. We found that a persistent high ambient temperature of 36 °C and above is detrimental to SARS-CoV-2 transmission and has paused the community spread of COVID-19 in Pakistan. Importantly, during the fall period of SARS-CoV-2, a high relative humidity of 63-72% was noted that showed a positive role in COVID-19 inhibition. Hence, the community spread of SARS-CoV-2 was paused by the warm humid climate and the ambient temperature was the yardstick in turning down the epidemic in Pakistan.

Keywords: Environmental control; SARS; SARS-cov-2; relative humidity; temperature.

Publication types

Editorial