The effects of weather on the spread of COVID-19: evidence from Ghana

Abstract Background Climatic factors have been shown to influence communicable disease dynamics especially in tropical regions where temperature could swing from extreme heat and dryness to wet and cold within a short period of time. This is more pronounced in the spread of airborne diseases. In this study, the effect of some local weather variables (average temperature, average relative humidity, average wind speed and average atmospheric pressure) on the risk of Severe Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in Ghana is investigated. The daily confirmed new COVID-19 cases were compiled from the Ghana Health Service and the weather data extracted from Weatherbase. The type of relationship between the climatic variable and risk of spread were explored using the Generalized Additive Model (GAM). Results Results obtained showed that wind speed and atmospheric pressure have positive linear relationship with the spread of infection an increase in the risk of COVID-19 spread. In addition, the risk of spread fluctuates for temperature between 24 and 29 °C but sharply decreases when average temperature exceeds 29 °C. The risk of spread of COVID-19 significantly decrease for relative humidity between 72 and 76% and leveled afterwards. Conclusion The results indicate that wind speed and pressure have a positive linear relationship with the risk of spread of COVID-19 whilst temperature and humidity have a non-linear relationship with the spread of COVID-19. These findings highlight the need for policy makers to design effective countermeasures for controlling the spread as we are still within the low temperature season.

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Predicting the local COVID-19 outbreak around the world with meteorological conditions: a model-based qualitative study

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2020-041397 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (11) ◽

pp. e041397

Author(s):

Biqing Chen ◽

Hao Liang ◽

Xiaomin Yuan ◽

Yingying Hu ◽

Miao Xu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Wind Speed ◽

Relative Humidity ◽

Qualitative Study ◽

Meteorological Factors ◽

Weather Data ◽

Epidemic Control ◽

Average Temperature ◽

Term Model ◽

The Future ◽

Future Outbreak

ObjectivesThis study aims to investigate the relationship between daily weather and transmission rate of SARS-CoV-2, and to develop a generalised model for future prediction of the COVID-19 spreading rate for a certain area with meteorological factors.DesignA retrospective, qualitative study.Methods and analysisWe collected 382 596 records of weather data with four meteorological factors, namely, average temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, and air visibility, and 15 192 records of epidemic data with daily new confirmed case counts (1 587 209 confirmed cases in total) in nearly 500 areas worldwide from 20 January 2020 to 9 April 2020. Epidemic data were modelled against weather data to find a model that could best predict the future outbreak.ResultsSignificant correlation of the daily new confirmed case count with the weather 3 to 7 days ago were found. SARS-CoV-2 is easy to spread under weather conditions of average temperature at 5 to 15°C, relative humidity at 70% to 80%, wind speed at 1.5 to 4.5 m/s and air visibility less than 10 statute miles. A short-term model with these four meteorological variables was derived to predict the daily increase in COVID-19 cases; and a long-term model using temperature to predict the pandemic in the next week to month was derived. Taken China as a discovery dataset, it was well validated with worldwide data. According to this model, there are five viral transmission patterns, ‘restricted’, ‘controlled’, ‘natural’, ‘tropical’ and ‘southern’. This model’s prediction performance correlates with actual observations best (over 0.9 correlation coefficient) under natural spread mode of SARS-CoV-2 when there is not much human interference such as epidemic control.ConclusionsThis model can be used for prediction of the future outbreak, and illustrating the effect of epidemic control for a certain area.

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A Modified Method to Generate Typical Meteorological Years from the Long-Term Weather Database

International Journal of Photoenergy ◽

10.1155/2012/538279 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 2012 ◽

pp. 1-9 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Haixiang Zang ◽

Qingshan Xu ◽

Pengwei Du ◽

Katsuhiro Ichiyanagi

Keyword(s):

Relative Humidity ◽

Solar Radiation ◽

Solar Energy ◽

Atmospheric Pressure ◽

Energy Systems ◽

Global Solar Radiation ◽

Weather Data ◽

Radiation Data ◽

Modified Method

A modified typical meteorological year (TMY) method is proposed for generating TMY from practical measured weather data. A total of eleven weather indices and novel assigned weighting factors are applied in the processing of forming the TMY database. TMYs of 35 cities in China are generated based on the latest and accurate measured weather data (dry bulb temperature, relative humidity, wind velocity, atmospheric pressure, and daily global solar radiation) in the period of 1994–2010. The TMY data and typical solar radiation data are also investigated and analyzed in this paper, which are important in the utilizations of solar energy systems.

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Analysis and Evaluation of Tourism Climate Resources in Turpan Region

Advanced Materials Research ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/amr.869-870.80 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 869-870 ◽

pp. 80-83

Author(s):

Zhang Ying

Keyword(s):

Wind Speed ◽

Relative Humidity ◽

Development Planning ◽

Scientific Basis ◽

Tourism Industry ◽

Temporal And Spatial Distribution ◽

Travel And Tourism ◽

Average Temperature ◽

Tourism Climate ◽

Climate Comfort

The article analyzes Turpan average temperature, relative humidity and wind speed the change characteristics of the climate elements and their travel to the comfort of climate influence mechanism and gets the conclusion: temperature, relative humidity, wind speed of Xinjiang tourism is the effect of climate comfort of main elements of sunshine. So from the average temperature, relative humidity, wind speed on average three climate elements start, select the suitable for Turpan tourism climate comfort evaluation index of the grain, and puts forward some concrete methods of tourism scenic area as part of the site, focus on the discussion were in Xinjiang tourism climate comfort of the temporal and spatial distribution of feature, make pleasant climate degrees in time and space more comparability. For the development of tourism resources, tourist season choice more objective and scientific guidance and practical. For the comfort of the climate in Turpan, it can arrange for the tour operator for tourism activities, visitors to choose the proper place and time travel and tourism destination development planning to provide the necessary guidance. It can also for the further development of the tourism industry in Turpan development space and offer scientific basis.

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Phenological pattern reproductive of Attalea speciosa Mart ex Spreng. in pasture area in the central region of Rondônia.

FLORESTA ◽

10.5380/rf.v50i2.63713 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 50 (2) ◽

pp. 1335 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jhonatas Cortes Rosa ◽

Andreza Pereira Mendonça ◽

Claudemir Carlos Ribeiro ◽

Sylviane Beck Ribeiro

Keyword(s):

Relative Humidity ◽

Climatic Factors ◽

Pearson Correlation ◽

Meteorological Variables ◽

Average Temperature ◽

Palm Trees ◽

Monthly Total Precipitation ◽

Monthly Total ◽

Pasture Area ◽

Reproductive Events

The objective of this work was to evaluate the phenology of the babassu (Attalea speciosa Mart ex Spreng.), aiming to subsidize information for non - timber management of the species in pasture area. For 48 months, the phenological patterns of babassu were studied, relating them to meteorological variables such as monthly average temperature, monthly total precipitation, relative humidity of the medium air and photoperiod. A total of 130 adult palm trees from natural regeneration were monitored in a pasture in the municipality of Ji-Paraná, RO, from January 2012 to December 2015. The data were analyzed by means of the activity indexes, the relation of the phenophases and meteorological variables by means of Pearson correlation. The population synchrony index was also evaluated. During the study, the population of Attalea speciosa showed flowering asynchronously in the population. In the process of formation and maturation of the fruits of the babassu, it was possible to observe that the time of total development of the fruits was in average 254 days. In young infructescence, the most influential climatic factors were temperature and photoperiod. In the green infructescence, climatic factors such as precipitation, relative humidity and photoperiod influenced negatively. The presence of mature infructescence occurred throughout the year, with the highest intensities in the month of November, and its activity related to the increase in temperature and duration of days. Phenological monitoring of babassu allowed to identify the intensity and predictability of reproductive events, thus enabling information to be provided to the plans for the sustainable exploitation of the species in pasture in the municipality of Ji-Paraná.

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Prediction model for deoxynivalenol in wheat grain based on weather conditions

Plant Protection Science ◽

10.17221/2834-pps ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 45 (Special Issue) ◽

pp. S33-S37 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

M. Váňová ◽

K. Klem ◽

P. Matušinský ◽

M. Trnka

Keyword(s):

Relative Humidity ◽

Environmental Factors ◽

Winter Wheat ◽

Correlation Coefficients ◽

Weather Conditions ◽

Weather Data ◽

Wheat Grain ◽

Average Temperature ◽

Preceding Crop ◽

Beginning Of Flowering

Environmental factors influence the growth, survival, dissemination and hence the incidence of <i>Fusarium</i> fungi and the disease severity. The knowledge of the quantitative and qualitative effects of environmental factors and growing practices on initial infection, disease development and mycotoxin production is important for prediction of disease severity, yield impact and grain contamination with mycotoxins. The objective of this study was to design a model for prediction of deoxynivalenol (DON) content in winter wheat grain based on weather conditions, preceding crop and soil cultivation. The grain samples from winter wheat field experiments conducted in 2002–2005 to determine the effect of preceding crop in combination with soil cultivation on Fusarium head blight infection were analysed for the DON content. Average daily weather data (temperature, rainfall, relative humidity) were collected using an automated meteorological station and analysed separately for April, May and a 5 days period prior to the beginning of flowering and 5 days after the beginning of flowering. The correlation coefficients of DON content to weather data were calculated for monthly data prior to heading and 5 days data prior to and after the beginning of anthesis. Highest positive correlation coefficients were found for sum of precipitation in April, average temperature in April, and sum of precipitation 5 days prior to anthesis. Significant negative correlation was found for average temperature in May and average relative humidity 5 days prior to anthesis. Using the data from this experiment, we trained neural networks for prediction of deoxynivalenol content on the basis of weather data and preceding crop. The most appropriate neural network model was then coupled with AgriClim model to simulate spatial and temporal variation of DON content in wheat samples for south Moravia and north-east Austria area.

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Relationship between meteorological conditions and respiratory syncytial virus in a tropical country

Epidemiology and Infection ◽

10.1017/s0950268814003793 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 143 (12) ◽

pp. 2679-2686 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

C. E. RODRIGUEZ-MARTINEZ ◽

M. P. SOSSA-BRICEÑO ◽

R. ACUÑA-CORDERO

Keyword(s):

Respiratory Syncytial Virus ◽

Wind Speed ◽

Relative Humidity ◽

Solar Radiation ◽

Latin American ◽

Meteorological Conditions ◽

Acute Lower Respiratory Infection ◽

Average Temperature ◽

Monthly Average ◽

Syncytial Virus

SUMMARYThis study aimed to determine which meteorological conditions are associated with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) isolates in a population of children hospitalized with acute lower respiratory infection (ALRI) in Bogota, Colombia. In an analytical cross-sectional study, links were examined between the number of monthly RSV infections and monthly average climatic variation (temperature, relative humidity, rainfall, wind speed, solar radiation) between 1 January 2010 and 30 April 2011 in a population of hospitalized children aged <3 years with ALRI caused by RSV. Out of a total of 1548 children included in the study (mean age 9·2 ± 8·5 months), 1194 (77·1%) presented RSV infection during the 3-month period from March to May. In the multivariate analysis, after controlling for wind speed, relative humidity, and solar radiation, monthly average temperature [incident rate ratio (IRR) 3·14, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1·56–6·30,P= 0·001] and rainfall (IRR 1·008, 95% CI 1·00–1·01,P= 0·048) were independently associated with the monthly number of RSV infections. In conclusion, in Bogota, a tropical Latin American city, average temperature and rainfall are the meteorological variables most strongly associated with RSV isolation in children hospitalized with ALRI in the city.

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Spatio-Temporal Variation of Reference Evapotranspiration and Its Climatic Drivers over the Tibetan Plateau during 1970–2018

Applied Sciences ◽

10.3390/app11178013 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (17) ◽

pp. 8013

Author(s):

Shanshan Hu ◽

Ruyi Gao ◽

Tao Zhang ◽

Peng Bai ◽

Rui Zhang

Keyword(s):

Wind Speed ◽

Relative Humidity ◽

Tibetan Plateau ◽

Reference Evapotranspiration ◽

Climatic Factors ◽

Kendall Test ◽

The Tibetan Plateau ◽

Variation Characteristics ◽

Climatic Drivers ◽

Spatio Temporal

Reference evapotranspiration (ET0) is a key component of hydrologic cycle and it is important for water resources management. Analysis of ET0 changes is particularly critical for understanding the impacts of climatic change on hydrology in ecologically fragile regions. In this study, using the Penman–Monteith method and the Mann–Kendall test, the variation characteristics of ET0 on the Tibetan Plateau (TP) from 1970 to 2018 was analyzed, and the dominant climatic factors controlling the change of ET0 was also explored. The result shows that in TP region: (1) there was an abrupt change in the trend of ET0 around 1997, and the ET0 declined at a rate of −25.9 mm/decade during 1970–1996 but increased by 31.1 mm/decade during 1997–2018; (2) ET0 is most sensitive to solar radiation, then relative humidity, wind speed and mean temperature; (3) the decrease of ET0 before 1997 was mainly due to the decline of wind speed and the increase of relative humidity, while the increase of ET0 after 1997 was mainly due to the decrease of relative humidity. The results of this study can provide data reference for the research of water balance on the TP.

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COMPARAÇÃO ENTRE DADOS METEOROLÓGICOS OBTIDOS POR ESTAÇÕES CONVENCIONAIS E AUTOMÁTICAS NO ESTADO DO PIAUÍ, BRASIL*

Irriga ◽

10.15809/irriga.2017v22n1p220-235 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 22 (2) ◽

pp. 220-235

Author(s):

Aureliano De Albuquerque Ribeiro ◽

Aderson Soares De Andrade Júnior ◽

Everaldo Moreira Da Silva ◽

Marcelo Simeão ◽

Edson Alves Bastos

Keyword(s):

Wind Speed ◽

Relative Humidity ◽

Air Temperature ◽

Atmospheric Pressure ◽

Meteorological Data ◽

Pearson Correlation ◽

Absolute Error ◽

Average Relative Humidity ◽

Operational Issues ◽

Meteorological Elements

COMPARAÇÃO ENTRE DADOS METEOROLÓGICOS OBTIDOS POR ESTAÇÕES CONVENCIONAIS E AUTOMÁTICAS NO ESTADO DO PIAUÍ, BRASIL* AURELIANO DE ALBUQUERQUE RIBEIRO1; ADERSON SOARES DE ANDRADE JÚNIOR2; EVERALDO MOREIRA DA SILVA3; MARCELO SIMEÃO4 E EDSON ALVES BASTOS2 1Doutorando em Engenharia Agrícola, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Av. Mister Hull, s/n - Pici, bloco 804, 60455-760, Fortaleza - CE, [email protected] Embrapa Meio-Norte, Teresina, PI, [email protected], [email protected] Professor Adjunto II da Universidade Federal do Piauí, Campus Professora Cinobelina Elvas, Bom Jesus, PI, [email protected] Mestre em Agronomia: Solos e Nutrição de Plantas, Universidade Federal do Piauí, Campus Professora Cinobelina Elvas, Bom Jesus, PI, [email protected]*Extraído da dissertação de mestrado do primeiro autor 1 RESUMOO registro de elementos climáticos é efetuado por estações meteorológicas convencionais e automáticas. Porém, por questões operacionais e de custo, as estações automáticas estão substituindo as convencionais. Contudo, para que as séries de dados dessas estações sejam únicas, há a necessidade de estudos comparativos entre as duas estações. O estudo teve como objetivo comparar dados meteorológicos obtidos por estações convencionais (EMC) e automáticas (EMA) em municípios do Estado do Piauí (Paulistana, Picos, São João do Piauí, Floriano, Parnaíba e Piripiri). Os elementos meteorológicos avaliados foram: temperaturas do ar máxima (°C) mínima (ºC) e média (ºC), umidade relativa média do ar (%), velocidade do vento a 10 m (m s-1), precipitação pluviométrica (mm) e pressão atmosférica média (hPa). As comparações dos dados foram feitas por meio dos seguintes indicadores estatísticos: precisão (R2), erro absoluto médio (EAM), coeficiente de correlação (r), índice de concordância de Willmott (d) e índice de confiança (c). Os melhores ajustes dos dados foram constatados para a precipitação e pressão atmosférica; intermediários, para a temperatura do ar, umidade relativa do ar média e os piores, para a velocidade do vento. A umidade relativa média do ar foi o elemento analisado que mostrou as maiores diferenças entre a EMC e a EMA. Palavras-chave: Agrometeorologia, elementos climáticos, sensores. RIBEIRO, A. A.; ANDRADE JÚNIOR, A. S.; SILVA, E.M.; SIMEÃO, M.; BASTOS, E.A.COMPARISON OF METEOROLOGICAL DATA RECORDED BY CONVENTIONAL AND AUTOMATIC STATIONS IN PIAUÍ STATE, BRAZIL 2 ABSTRACTClimatic elements are recorded by both conventional and automatic weather stations. However, due to cost and operational issues, automatic stations are replacing the conventional. So that data sets from these stations are unique, there is a need for comparative studies between the two types of stations. The aim of this study was to compare meteorological data obtained by conventional and automatic stations in towns of the State of Piauí, Brazil (Paulistana, Picos, São João do Piauí, Floriano and Piripiri).The meteorological elements evaluated were: maximum (°C) minimum (°C) and average (°C) air temperature, average relative humidity (%), wind speed at 10 m (m s-1), rainfall (mm) and average atmospheric pressure (hPa). Data comparison was by the following statistical indicators: precision (R2), mean absolute error (EAM), Pearson correlation coefficient (r), Willmott’s index of agreement (d) and confidence index (c). The best data adjustments were observed for rainfall and atmospheric pressure; intermediates for the air temperature, average relative humidity and worst for the wind speed. The air average relative humidity was the analyzed element that showed the greatest differences between EMC and EMA. Keywords: Agrometeorology, meteorological elements, sensors

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Correlations on the Air Nitrogen Oxides Pollutant Concentration and Climatic Factors Variations in Bacau City

Revista de Chimie ◽

10.37358/rc.20.2.7937 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 71 (2) ◽

pp. 358-364

Author(s):

Narcis Barsan ◽

Doina Capsa ◽

Emilian Mosnegutu ◽

Valentin Nedeff ◽

Ion Sandu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Wind Speed ◽

Atmospheric Pressure ◽

Climatic Factors ◽

Quality Monitoring ◽

Direct Influence ◽

Air Quality Monitoring ◽

Atmospheric Humidity ◽

Industrial Cities ◽

Air Quality Monitoring Stations

Considering the air pollution actual issues, in special for the industrial cities, in the present paper were established some correlations between NOx concentration and some climatic factors. The data were obtained from Bacau air quality monitoring stations and are related to 2011. The climatic factors analyzed were air temperature, atmospheric pressure, atmospheric humidity, solar radiation, wind speed and direction. The data interpretations reveal some direct influence of the air NOx concentration dispersion and analyzed climatic factors variation.

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Analysis of Streptococcal Infection and Correlation with Climatic Factors in Cultured Tilapia Oreochromis spp. in Taiwan

Applied Sciences ◽

10.3390/app10114018 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (11) ◽

pp. 4018

Author(s):

Pei-Chih Liao ◽

Yi-Lun Tsai ◽

Yao-Chung Chen ◽

Pei-Chi Wang ◽

Shu-Chu Liu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Atmospheric Pressure ◽

Streptococcal Infection ◽

Ph Value ◽

Climatic Factors ◽

Economic Losses ◽

Multivariate Logistic Regression Model ◽

Aquatic Animal ◽

Uv Index ◽

Average Temperature ◽

Treatment And Diagnosis

Tilapia (Oreochromis spp.), a prominent warm water food fish, is one of the major fish species grown in the aquaculture industry in south-east Asia. Tilapia can tolerate adverse water quality and other stressors, like diverse salinity and fluctuation of pH value, better than most other commercial aquaculture species. Environmental fluctuations are one of the main factors that affect the outbreak of infectious diseases in cultured tilapia. Cultured tilapia in Taiwan appears to be more susceptible to infections caused by Streptococci during the summer season. The present study emphasizes the Streptococcus spp. infection in tilapia in Taiwan and is the first study on the analysis of the potential impact of climate change on streptococcal infection in cultured tilapia in Asia. The data collected from the treatment and diagnosis system (TDS) of the aquatic animal diseases database from 2006 to 2015 were used to analyze the endemic streptococcal infection and the effect of climatic factors. Based on the results, the factor, average atmospheric pressure, is negatively correlated to streptococcal infection, while the other three, including average temperature, ultraviolet (UV) index, and rainfall, are positively correlated to streptococcal infection. A multivariate logistic regression model with these four factors was also built. When the average temperature is above 27.0 °C, the average atmospheric pressure is lower than 1005.1 hPa, or the UV index is above 7.2, the percentage of cumulated positive farms from all submitted tilapia cases was more than 50%. In addition, within 3 days of rain, rainfall is relevant to the occurrence of Streptococcus in tilapia. Using TDS to alert the occurrence of streptococcal infection in tilapia can be a very useful tool for veterinary aquatic animal inspection stations, and reducing economic losses and labour costs in aquatic agriculture.

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