Impact of Heat Index and Ultraviolet Index on COVID-19 in Major Cities of Pakistan

Adnan, Shahzada; Hanif, Muhammad; Khan, Azmat Hayat; Latif, Muhammad; Ullah, Kalim; Bashir, Furrukh; Kamil, Shahzad; Haider, Sajjad

INTRODUCTION: The world population is under the grip of global pandemic of COVID-19. The present study analyzed relationship between meteorological parameters and COVID-19 in three major cities of Pakistan, that is, Karachi, Lahore, and Peshawar. METHODS: The impacts of heat index (HI) and ultraviolet index (UVI) over daily COVID-19 cases have examined to identify its transmission and propagation. The significance of basic reproductive number (R(0)), growth rate (G(r)) and doubling time (T(d)) of COVID-19 with HI and UVI was determined. RESULTS: Both indices show a significant positive correlation (at 5% significance level) to R(0), T(d), and G(r) of COVID-19 patients. Our results showed that the minimum threshold temperature of 33 °C for HI (with a positive variation of 3 °C to 5 °C) put a significant impact on new cases. CONCLUSION: HI and UVI impacted significantly to decline COVID-19 cases over the region.