updated: Dec 17 2020, 14:43 ist
Natural variations in ultraviolet radiation influences the spread of the novel coronavirus, says a new study which adds that the effect is still modest compared to that of measures like physical distancing, and mask wearing.
The findings, published in the journal PNAS, suggests that the incidence of Covid-19 may have a seasonal pattern in which the virus spreads faster in the winter when it s darker with lower levels of UV radiation than during summer. Understanding the potential seasonality of Covid-19 transmission could help inform our response to the pandemic in the coming months, said Jonathan Proctor, a co-author of the study from Harvard University in the US.
Natural changes in UV influence the spread of COVID-19, shows study
Natural variations in ultraviolet radiation influence the spread of COVID-19, but the influence is modest compared to preventive measures such as physical distancing, mask wearing, and quarantine, according to new research from Harvard University.
Understanding the potential seasonality of COVID-19 transmission could help inform our response to the pandemic in the coming months. These findings suggest that the incidence of COVID-19 may have a seasonal pattern, spreading faster in the winter when it s darker than in the summer.
Jonathan Proctor, Postdoctoral Fellow, Harvard Data Science Initiative and Center for the Environment, Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Researchers find evidence that COVID-19 spread is sensitive to UV exposure
Scientists, policymakers, and healthcare workers are eager to discern to what extent COVID-19 may be seasonal. Understanding this aspect of the disease could guide our response to the pandemic.
Researchers at UC Santa Barbara have found evidence that the spread of COVID-19 is sensitive to UV exposure.
While this suggests that COVID-19 may vary with the seasons, there are other seasonal factors such as temperature, specific humidity and precipitation whose effects are uncertain given the available data. The results appear in the
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Can California’s cap and trade address environmental justice? Julia Rosen Wed, 12/16/2020 – 01:30 Growing up in North Richmond, California, Denny Khamphanthong didn’t think much of the siren that wailed once a month at 11 a.m. every first Wednesday. The alarm is a test of the community’s emergency warning system, which has alerted residents to numerous incidents over the years at the nearby Chevron oil refinery. One accident there a 2012 fire sent a cloud of black smoke billowing over San Francisco Bay and left thousands of local residents struggling to breathe. Now, when Khamphanthong explains the sound to his young nieces, he sees the fear in their eyes. “I forget that this isn’t normal,” he says. Nor is the fact that Khamphanthong and most of his childhood friends carried inhalers. Richmond, a diverse, industrial city where housing prices and incomes have lagged behind its Bay Area neighbors, has poor air quality and some of the highest rates of respiratory
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Scientists, policymakers and healthcare workers are eager to discern to what extent COVID-19 may be seasonal. Understanding this aspect of the disease could guide our response to the pandemic.
Researchers at UC Santa Barbara have found evidence that the spread of COVID-19 is sensitive to UV exposure. While this suggests that COVID-19 may vary with the seasons, there are other seasonal factors such as temperature, specific humidity and precipitation whose effects are uncertain given the available data. The results appear in the
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Related species of coronavirus like SARS from 2003 and MERS from 2012 turned out to have weak relationships with temperature and humidity, but were sensitive to UV radiation, said coauthor Kyle Meng, an environmental economist in UC Santa Barbara s economics department and at the campus s Bren School of Environmental Science & Management.