key: cord-277490-xrgnt6l5
authors: Huang, Zhongwei; Huang, Jianping; Gu, Qianqing; Du, Pengyue; Liang, Hongbin; Dong, Qing
title: Optimal temperature zone for the dispersal of COVID-19
date: 2020-05-16
journal: Sci Total Environ
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.139487
sha: 
doc_id: 277490
cord_uid: xrgnt6l5

Abstract It is essential to know the environmental parameters within which the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) can survive to understand its global dispersal pattern. We found that 60.0% of the confirmed cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) occurred in places where the air temperature ranged from 5 °C to 15 °C, with a peak in cases at 11.54 °C. Moreover, approximately 73.8% of the confirmed cases were concentrated in regions with absolute humidity of 3 g/m3 to 10 g/m3. SARS-CoV-2 appears to be spreading toward higher latitudes. Our findings suggest that there is an optimal climatic zone in which the concentration of SARS-CoV-2 markedly increases in the ambient environment (including the surfaces of objects). These results strongly imply that the COVID-19 pandemic may spread cyclically and outbreaks may recur in large cities in the mid-latitudes in autumn 2020.

J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f 3 through aerosols, which can be produced by speaking at a normal volume (Anfinrud et al., 2020) . In addition, it is found that SARS-CoV-2 can stay for a considerably long time in the air. The aerodynamic characteristics and propagation of SARS-CoV-2 in aerosols have been reported (Liu et al., 2020) . It was reported that SARS-CoV-2 was still found in the Diamond Princess cruise ship 17 days after people disembarked. Therefore, it is essential to understand the survival of SARS-CoV-2 in the ambient environment to prevent COVID-19. This information is very useful not only for the policymakers but also for the general population. 

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