Identificador persistente para citar o vincular este elemento: http://hdl.handle.net/10662/19406
Títulos: Did anomalous atmospheric circulation favor the spread of COVID-19 in Europe?
Autores/as: Sánchez Lorenzo, Arturo
Vaquero Martínez, Javier
Calbó, Josep
Wild, Martin
Santurtún, Ana
López-Bustins, J. A.
Vaquero Martínez, José M.
Folini, D
Antón Martínez, Manuel
Palabras clave: COVID-19 disease;Atmospheric circulation;North Atlantic Oscillation;Air humidity;1918 Spanish flu;COVID-19;Circulación atmosférica;Oscilación del Atlántico Norte;1918 Spanish flu;Gripe española 1918;Humedad del aire;Gripe española de 1918
Fecha de publicación: 2021
Editor/a: Elsevier
Resumen: The current pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is having negative health, social and economic consequences worldwide. In Europe, the pandemic started to develop strongly at the end of February and beginning of March 2020. Subsequently, it spread over the continent, with special virulence in northern Italy and inland Spain. In this study we show that an unusual persistent anticyclonic situation prevailing in southwestern Europe during February 2020 (i.e. anomalously strong positive phase of the North Atlantic and Arctic Oscillations) could have resulted in favorable conditions, e.g., in terms of air temperature and humidity among other factors, in Italy and Spain for a quicker spread of the virus compared with the rest of the European countries. It seems plausible that the strong atmospheric stability and associated dry conditions that dominated in these regions may have favored the virus propagation, both outdoors and especially indoors, by short-range droplet and aerosol (airborne) transmission, or/and by changing social contact patterns. Later recent atmospheric circulation conditions in Europe (July 2020) and the U.S. (October 2020) seem to support our hypothesis, although further research is needed in order to evaluate other confounding variables. Interestingly, the atmospheric conditions during the Spanish flu pandemic in 1918 seem to have resembled at some stage with the current COVID-19 pandemic.
Descripción: Este artículo fue publicado online el 17 de diciembre de 2020
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10662/19406
ISSN: 0013-9351
DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2020.110626
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