A study conducted jointly by researchers at IIT-Bhubaneswar and the AIIMS has shown that the spread of COVID-19 rise during peak monsoon and winter with a fall in the mercury. The rainfall, decrease in temperatures and cooling of the atmosphere coupled with progression towards winter may environmentally favour the spread of COVID-19 in the country, according to the study led by V Vinoj, Assistant Professor of the School of Earth, Ocean and Climatic Sciences at IIT-Bhubaneswar.
"It suggests that a one-degree-Celsius rise in temperature leads to a 0.99 per cent decrease in cases and increases the doubling time by 1.13 days, implying a slowdown of the virus spread,"The study also found that an increase in relative humidity tends to decrease the growth rate and doubling time of coronavirus cases by 1.18 days.
The researchers, however, said since the study was not conducted during the period of high humidity starting from the monsoon and the onset of winter, more research needs to be undertaken to establish its exact impact.
According to the study, there is a likelihood of an increased transmission of the coronavirus during winter, which may be a major challenge for health workers and policymakers to enforce mitigation and control measures.The objective of the study is to help authorities bring effective measures to combat the pandemic.several studies suggested that a fall in the temperatures and a relatively low humidity facilitated such an outbreak in the past.