Go Back
  • For Business
  • |
  • Warnings
  • Data Suite
  • Forensics
  • Advertising
  • Superior Accuracy™
Tropical rainstorm brings torrential downpours and dangerous flash flooding to Louisiana Chevron right
Flash flood risk to focus on parts of central US. Get the forecast Chevron right

Columbus, OH

74°F
Location Chevron down
Location News Videos
Use Current Location
Recent

Columbus

Ohio

74°
No results found.
Try searching for a city, zip code or point of interest.
settings
Columbus, OH Weather
Today WinterCast Local {stormName} Tracker Hourly Daily Radar MinuteCast Monthly Air Quality Health & Activities

Around the Globe

Hurricane Tracker

Severe Weather

Radar & Maps

News

News & Features

Astronomy

Business

Climate

Health

Recreation

Sports

Travel

For Business

Warnings

Data Suite

Forensics

Advertising

Superior Accuracy™

Video

Winter Center

AccuWeather Early Hurricane Center Top Stories Trending Today Astronomy Heat Climate Health Recreation In Memoriam Case Studies Blogs & Webinars

News / Health

Researchers seek what weather can reveal about COVID-19's future areas of highest risk

By John Roach, AccuWeather staff writer

Published Apr 14, 2020 9:39 PM EDT

Copied

More experts are now looking at UV levels and precipitation data to determine how weather impacts the survivability and spread of COVID-19.

The researchers who published an initial analysis in early March regarding the effect of temperature, humidity and latitude on the ability to predict the potential spread and seasonality of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, are now working with a team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to advance their research. 

The team's particular focus is to see if its hypothesis can be validated in the United States, “which has vastly different climatological areas within the continental U.S.,” Mohammad Sajadi, one of the initial study’s authors and an associate professor of medicine at the Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, told AccuWeather. 

“We are going to be [collecting data] state by state – even county by county,” Sajadi said. “We’re interested in looking at the areas of highest risk.” The U.S. has been the country hardest-hit by the pandemic with more than half of a million infected and more than 25,000 fatalities blamed on the illness, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University.

The team’s first step is to use the data it collects to “refine our definition of what are meteorologically favorable atmospheric conditions for the virus,” Augustin Vintzileos told AccuWeather. He also was an author on the first study and is an assistant research scientist at the Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center at the University of Maryland. 

“The big research question we are asking right now is: How long should these favorable conditions persist in order to have an impact?” he said.

Voters masked against coronavirus line up at Riverside High School for Wisconsin's primary election Tuesday April 7, 2020, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

“If we end up being right that there are temperature and humidity requirements for the virus – that is, the virus does better in certain conditions – then that information could be used in terms of predicting at least in the temperate areas [of the world] when this problem could resurface or which places would be more at risk,” Sajadi said.

In their initial research published March 5, a week before the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the crisis a pandemic, the authors of the study wrote that COVID-19 “has established significant community spread in cities and regions only along a narrow east-west distribution roughly along the 30-50 North latitude corridor at consistently similar weather patterns (5-11 degrees C [41 to 51 F] and 47-79 percent humidity)."

“Notably, during the same time, COVID-19 failed to spread significantly to countries immediately south of China,” the paper notes. “The number of patients and reported deaths in Southeast Asia is much less when compared to more temperate regions noted ... The association between temperature in the cities affected with COVID-19 deserves special attention.” 

Related:

'Rapid expert consultation' on new coronavirus and weather sent to top White House adviser
Americans may need to wear masks for up to 18 months, Yale expert says
Supercomputer studying climate change now available for COVID-19 scientists
Is 6 feet enough for social distancing? Maybe not, says MIT professor
Study on new coronavirus says warmer weather may slow COVID-19 spread, and cooler weather may accelerate it

Last week, a panel from the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine sent a report to the White House on how weather and seasonality may affect the spread of SARS-CoV-2. The report examined an array of coronavirus-related studies worldwide. 

The impact of higher temperatures and high humidity on the spread of COVID-19 was among the research studied and the chair of the panel, Dr. Harvey Fineberg, told AccuWeather, “In the end, I think it’s inconclusive scientifically."

One result regarding temperature and humidity, however, stood out for Dr. Fineberg.

“It’s pretty clear that when you look at this virus in the laboratory, if you raise the temperature and you raise the humidity, the virus does not do as well,” he told AccuWeather. “It does not replicate as well. So, the virus is subject to success under different conditions of temperature and humidity."

Sajadi and Vintzileos stress that “the climate is one factor – and there are many, many different factors that are important and certain situations may even be more important,” Sajadi said. Some of those factors include population density, travel, air pollution, and public health intervention efforts such as isolation and social distancing. 

“What our research is highlighting is that we should also consider temperature and humidity in the modeling as we think about the spread of this disease,” Sajadi said. 

Report a Typo
Comments that don't add to the conversation may be automatically or manually removed by Facebook or AccuWeather. Profanity, personal attacks, and spam will not be tolerated.
Comments
Hide Comments

Weather News

video

Renewed flash flooding sweeps through New Mexico

Jul. 18, 2025
Recreation

Felix Baumgartner, known for jump from stratosphere, dies in crash

Jul. 18, 2025
Weather News

Inside the grueling recovery effort after Texas’ deadly flood

Jul. 15, 2025
Weather News

The Deadliest Floods in Texas History: A State at Risk

Jul. 16, 2025
video

Before-and-after pictures show devastation caused by Texas floods

Jul. 9, 2025
Severe Weather

Severe weather to rumble in the central US through the holiday weekend

Jul. 6, 2025
Weather News

Record sargassum seaweed piles up on Caribbean islands, Gulf

Jul. 2, 2025
Weather News

Alabama teen in ICU after lightning strike hits boat, causing burns an...

Jul. 2, 2025
Show more Show less Chevron down

Topics

AccuWeather Early

Hurricane Center

Top Stories

Trending Today

Astronomy

Heat

Climate

Health

Recreation

In Memoriam

Case Studies

Blogs & Webinars

Top Stories

Severe Weather

When water hits like a tornado: The violent force of flash flooding

1 day ago

Weather Forecasts

Flash flood risk to focus on parts of central US into next week

6 hours ago

Weather News

Lightning strike scorches Florida golf green

5 hours ago

Weather Forecasts

When will the Northeast get relief from the heat and humidity?

6 hours ago

Weather News

Why the search for the missing in Texas may take months

7 hours ago

More Stories

Featured Stories

Recreation

Felix Baumgartner, known for jump from stratosphere, dies in crash

9 hours ago

Weather News

Curious Colorado bear rescued from storm drain

12 hours ago

Weather News

Dinosaur fossil found underneath a Denver museum’s parking lot

1 day ago

Weather News

Dolphin rescued from shallow lagoon in South Carolina

3 hours ago

Weather News

What happens when an octopus engages with art?

3 hours ago

AccuWeather Health Researchers seek what weather can reveal about COVID-19's future areas of highest risk
Company
Proven Superior Accuracy About AccuWeather Digital Advertising Careers Press Contact Us
Products & Services
For Business For Partners For Advertising AccuWeather APIs AccuWeather Connect RealFeel® and RealFeel Shade™ Personal Weather Stations
Apps & Downloads
iPhone App Android App See all Apps & Downloads
Subscription Services
AccuWeather Premium AccuWeather Professional
More
AccuWeather Ready Business Health Hurricane Leisure and Recreation Severe Weather Space and Astronomy Sports Travel Weather News Winter Center
Company
Proven Superior Accuracy About AccuWeather Digital Advertising Careers Press Contact Us
Products & Services
For Business For Partners For Advertising AccuWeather APIs AccuWeather Connect RealFeel® and RealFeel Shade™ Personal Weather Stations
Apps & Downloads
iPhone App Android App See all Apps & Downloads
Subscription Services
AccuWeather Premium AccuWeather Professional
More
AccuWeather Ready Business Health Hurricane Leisure and Recreation Severe Weather Space and Astronomy Sports Travel Weather News Winter Center
© 2025 AccuWeather, Inc. "AccuWeather" and sun design are registered trademarks of AccuWeather, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy | About Your Privacy Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information

...

...

...