Correlation between temperature and humidity with COVID-19 pandemic in Cartagena, Colombia

Eder Cano-Perez, Jaison Torres

Abstract

Different climatic and environmental factors influence the epidemiological behavior of infectious diseases. This study aims to analyze the correlation between climate and COVID-19 cases in Cartagena, Colombia. Epidemiological and meteorological data were collected from the surveillance files of COVID-19 of the Colombian Ministry of Health and the meteorological station of the Center for Oceanographic and Hydrographic Research of Cartagena. Climatic factors included: minimum temperature (°C), maximum temperature (°C), average temperature (°C), and relative humidity (%). Spearman's rank correlation test was used to examine the correlation between climatic and epidemiological variables. Among the climatic components, the average temperature, minimum temperature, and relative humidity were significantly correlated with the incidence of COVID-19. These findings may contribute to the implementation of preventive actions against COVID-19 disease in Colombia.