DULUTH, MN -- A brand-new study links high humidity and heat to a slowing effect of the spread of the COVID-19 virus. The study is so new, it has not had the time to be peer reviewed. Because this virus is on the edge of our knowledge, it is important to review a study such as this.



According to the study, July will see a rapid slowing of the disease in North America. It breaks down the "R" number, or how well the virus reproduces in different humidity, temperatures, and city sizes. Below is a map showing projections of disease incidence based on this study's interpretation of the relationship between temperature and COVID-19 spread.

Credit: Jingyuan Wang, Ke Tang, Kai Feng and Weifeng Lv

The study says when the outbreak began, countries with cool air and low humidity like Korea, Iran, and Japan saw much more spread than did warm and humid countries like Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.

So when can we in the Northland expect the humidity and heat? Not for a while. Lake Superior's breeze strengthens from the east in May and June, keeping us air conditioned as warmer air over the land rises and draws in the cooler air from the lake, which would prolong the virus's ideal reproductive conditions.



Yesterday, I posted a story about another new study that talked about the temperature range that COVID likes to reproduce in. This range is from 41F to 52F, which occurs on average from April 12 to May 21st in Duluth. The story can be found here: https://kbjr6.com/2020/03/19/researching-a-link-between-climate-and-covid-19/?fbclid=IwAR1rNzre0qWSiySunl57UnFqJzTUuJh_WsE3u61XggYtJPuqSzxJpvyXeWA



As I said in that story, all of this is brand-new research that has yet to be vetted. But given that we are rapidly approaching the hypothesized ideal temperature range of one study, and won't see the other study's hypothesis of heat and humidity's slowing effects for quite some time, I thought it best to inform that we could be in for a dangerous spring in the Northland.

Here's a link to the heat/humidity study from China:

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3551767