The Relationship between Ambient Temperature and Positive Cases of COVID-19; A Case Study in Abarkouh and Qeshm Cities of Iran

Introduction: The prevalence of infectious diseases varies depending on the type of micro-organism involved. Viral diseases can spread rapidly among communities, due to the specific characteristics of the virus. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID 19) is a new member of the coronavirus family that has caused rapid epidemics and affected the health and economy of the countries. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the ambient temperature and the positive cases of COVID 19. Materials and Methods: In the present research, the relationship between the number of positive cases of COVID 19 and the ambient temperature was investigated in Abarkouh and Qeshm cities during a 49-day period. The collected data were analyzed by SPSS 16 software using descriptive statistics and correlation coefficient tests. Results: The average ambient temperatures in the study period were 19.16 ± 3.45 and 25.79 ± 1.83 for Abarkouh and Qeshm cities, respectively. During this period, the positive cases in Abarkouh and Qeshm cities were 38 and 28 people, respectively. The results of correlation test revealed a negative correlation between the ambient temperature and the number of patients with COVID 19 (the correlation rates were -0.107 and -0.083 with p-values of 0.46 and 0.57 for Abarkouh and Qeshm, respectively). Conclusion: Our results revealed that increase of air temperature was negatively correlated with the number of positive cases of COVID 19. It can be concluded that atmospheric temperature affects the virus outbreak. So, the rate of virus spread is expected to  be reduced.