The hot Indian summer is a ray of hope for several Indians with multiple sources suggesting it might stop the ongoing Covid-19. However, a recent study has some real bad news for all of us. A study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal paid attention to 144 geopolitical areas, including states and provinces in Australia, the US, and Canada along with others, to study the impact of latitude and temperature on Covid-19.
The study observed the impact of latitude, temperature, humidity, school closures, restrictions of mass gatherings, and social distancing while assessing the growth of the pandemic during the period between March 7 to 13. Interestingly, it found that latitude or temperature had little to no bearings on the growth of Covid-19. The humidity does not contribute in reducing the transmission of the pandemic.
In a report, Peter Juni from the University of Toronto, and St Michael's Hospital in Canada, said, “We had conducted a preliminary study that suggested both latitude and temperature could play a role. But when we repeated the study under much more rigorous conditions, we got the opposite result.” Co-author of the study and epidemiologist at Dalla Lana School of Public Health in Canada, Professor Dionne Gesink said that the summer is not going to make this go away.
With the third phase of India's lockdown set to come to an end soon, there are several public health questions still unanswered.
