Instead, the article suggests the cold makes us more susceptible to the virions and could activate dormant ones that are already inside us. The article is interesting in that it hypothesized the reason for the seasonality of respiratory tract infections may not be because we stay inside more and become more crowded in the winter or that lower temperatures increase the stability of virions outside the body.
In that article the author looked at various reasons for the seasonality of Influenza A and B, and many unrelated viruses including rhinovirus, RSV, adenovirus, metapneumovirus and coronavirus.
In 2016 there was a report by Patrick Shaw Stewart titled "Seasonality and Selective Trends in Viral Acute Respiratory Tract Infections," published in Medical Hypotheses. Colder Weather Possibly Makes Us More Vulnerable Let’s look at ways in which weather likely plays a roll in how we deal with the virus and how the virus deals with us. Information can help us make decisions, but it can also help keep our anxiety lower. The variables I wanted to explore are humidity, temperature and sunshine, and how they might effect the way COVID-19 interacts with humans. In peer-reviewed research there are some interesting findings which may help us feel more knowledgeable about the virus and better understand how seasonality could change the way it impacts all of us. This is one reason why it is so important we all practice social distancing and other measures to limit exposure and flatten the curve in the coming weeks. Unfortunately, the evidence is inconclusive at best and there is actually research suggesting the virus will persist through the summer. There is speculation out there that warmer summertime weather could help to quell the effects of the COVID-19. So I set out to understand how various meteorological and climatological variables may impact the current pandemic we are all living through. Of course life has changed over the past few weeks and the way we deal with the coronavirus is going to be the main story for the foreseeable future.
(NIAID-RML via AP) This article is more than 2 years old.Īs a meteorologist I am often curious about how weather affects everything from our moods to the things we grow in the garden. National Institutes of Health in February 2020 shows the novel coronavirus. This undated electron microscope image made available by the U.S.