AUTHOR=Liu Li 

TITLE=Correlation Between Local Air Temperature and the COVID-19 Pandemic in Hubei, China

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=8

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2020.604870

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2020.604870

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Objective:</bold> To clarify the correlation between temperature and the COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei.</p><p><bold>Methods:</bold> We collected daily newly confirmed COVID-19 cases and daily temperature for six cities in Hubei Province, assessed their correlations, and established regression models.</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> For temperatures ranging from −3.9 to 16.5°C, daily newly confirmed cases were positively correlated with the maximum temperature ~0–4 days prior or the minimum temperature ~11–14 days prior to the diagnosis in almost all selected cities. An increase in the maximum temperature 4 days prior by 1°C was associated with an increase in the daily newly confirmed cases (~129) in Wuhan. The influence of temperature on the daily newly confirmed cases in Wuhan was much more significant than in other cities.</p><p><bold>Conclusion:</bold> Government departments in areas where temperatures range between −3.9 and 16.5°C and rise gradually must take more active measures to address the COVID-19 pandemic.</p>