Does warm weather stop viral spread? UBC expert debunks COVID myths

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Early on in this pandemic, there were high hopes that hot summer temperatures could reduce the spread, or even outright eliminate, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

But now, the science is mostly in, and the answer is it doesn’t — at least not directly.

“There’s really nothing that’s been shown or proven thus far to show that warmer weather, the actual temperature, affects the viral spread,” explained Dr. Anna Blakney, an assistant professor in the School of Biomedical Engineering at UBC.

“It’s more likely that it’s the actual behaviour that changes due to the warmer weather that affects the spread,” she added.

She says the same logic can be applied to the flu season: it’s not that viruses necessarily behave differently in cold weather, it’s just that more people are inside, in closer contact, for longer periods of time.

Of course, warmer weather tends to drive people outdoors, where transmission rates are lower.

“We know that COVID-19 is an upper respiratory infection and so it’s transmitted by breathing other people’s air, basically,” Blakney told NEWS 1130.

“You need those viral particles to get into your lungs. Somehow that’s much less likely to happen outside, much more likely to happen indoors, which has informed a lot of these policies about wearing masks and having other people at your home.”

She says this point can also be proven by looking at the southern versus northern hemispheres; flu seasons basically happen at the opposite time of year in each area.

It’s also been a year since the pandemic gripped the globe, so arguments that the virus would disappear with higher temperatures don’t exactly hold up.

Blakney dispels COVID-19 myths and shares her knowledge with the public through her TikTok account, which has thousands of followers, and more than 3 million likes.

She was recruited to share her expertise on social media through a joint effort by the UN Verified Initiative and the Vaccine Confidence Project.

@anna.blakneyCOVID vaccine myths ##teamhalo ##learnontiktok♬ original sound – Justice With No Curls

 

Blakney has urged other clinicians and scientists to also get online to share their knowledge.

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