Impact of meteorological factors on COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from top 20 countries with confirmed cases

Highlights

• COVID-19 outcomes and meteorological factors are examined in 20 countries.

• High temperature and high relative humidity reduce COVID-19 cases, deaths and improve recovery.

• Wind speed and surface pressure escalate confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2.

• Dew/frost point and precipitation increase the incidence of COVID-19.

Abstract

The global confirmed cases of COVID-19 have surpassed 7 million with over 400,000 deaths reported. However, 20 out of 187 countries and territories have over 2 million confirmed cases alone, a situation which calls for a critical assessment. The social distancing and preventive measures instituted across countries have a link with spread containment whereas spread containment is associated with meteorological factors. Here, we examine the effect of meteorological factors on COVID-19 health outcomes. We develop conceptual tools with dew/frost point, temperature, disaggregate temperature, wind speed, relative humidity, precipitation and surface pressure against confirmed cases, deaths and recovery cases. Using novel panel estimation techniques, our results find strong evidence of causation between meteorological factors and COVID-19 outcomes. We report that high temperature and high relative humidity reduce the viability, stability, survival and transmission of COVID-19 whereas low temperature, wind speed, dew/frost point, precipitation and surface pressure prolong the activation and infectivity of the virus. Our study demonstrates the importance of applying social distancing and preventive measures to mitigate the global pandemic.