Experts assessed the impact of hot weather on the spread of COVID-19

Each virus has its own "comfort temperature", it is incorrect to talk about the impact of hot dry weather on the increase in the incidence of covid-19 . This was told to RBC by an infectious disease specialist, chief physician of the medical center "Leader-Medicine" Evgeny Timakov.

According to Timakov, the viability of the virus is affected by air humidity. “If high air temperature is accompanied by high humidity, it can be dangerous, because prolonged exposure to virus suspension in the air will contribute to an increase in the incidence,” the virologist said.

The virus is less active at high insolation (the amount of sunlight entering the room. -). However, the virus spreads faster when there are large crowds of people.

“As for the drying of the mucous membrane, in most of the population of megacities, the mucous membrane is already dried up, no matter what the weather is like outside. Everywhere there are air conditioners that dry the air, in public transport the air is always dry,” Timakov added.

COVID-19 is spreading from sick people who cough up sputum particles, Alexei Agranovsky, a virologist, professor at Moscow State University, DOCTOR of Biology, told RBC. “High temperatures and low humidity inactivate the virus faster and sputum particles dry faster on hard surfaces. The most favorable conditions for the transmission of COVID-19 are the accumulation of people in closed, poorly ventilated rooms, ”the virologist believes.