SARS-CoV-2 and the Weather: Correlation between COVID-19 and Meteorological Variables in 3 Cities in Mexico

Abstract

Meteorological factors such as temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind speed and direction are associated with the dispersion of the SARS-CoV-2 virus through aerosols, particles <5μm are suspended in the air being infective at least three hours and dispersing from eight to ten meters. It has been shown that a 10-minute conversation, an infected person produces up to 6000 aerosol particles, which remain in the air from minutes to hours, depending on the prevailing weather conditions. Objective: To establish the correlation between meteorological variables, confirmed cases and deaths from COVID-19 in the 3 most important cities of Mexico. Methodology: A retrospective ecological study was conducted to evaluate the correlation of meteorological factors with COVID-19 cases and deaths in three Mexican cities. Results: The correlations between health and meteorological variables show that in the CDMX the meteorological variables that best correlate with the health variables are Temperature (T), Dew Point (DP), Wind speed (WS), Atmospheric Pressure (AP) and Relative Humidity (RH) in that order. In the ZMG are T, WS, RH, DP and AP; and in the ZMM are RH, WS, DP, T and AP. Conclusions In the 3 Metropolitan Areas showed that the meteorological factors that best correlate with the confirmed cases and deaths from COVID-19 are the T, RH; however, the correlation coefficients are low, so their association with health variables is less than other factors such as social distancing, hand washing, use of antibacterial gel and use of masks.