Low humidity as a Covid driver: reduce the risk of corona infection with indoor plants?
Created: 01/17/2022, 16:18
By: Juliane Gutmann
The humidity has an influence on the risk of corona infection, according to the result of a German-Indian study.
© Evgenia Sunegina/Imago
The fourth corona wave started with the beginning of the cold season.
The fact that people are spending more time indoors plays a role – as does falling humidity.
Corona incidences have been increasing across Germany since autumn. Cool temperatures are driving people back indoors -- a key reason for the rising numbers. Corona viruses spread via droplet infection and the viruses can spread better indoors than outdoors. However, according to researchers, UV rays also have an influence on the risk of corona infection.
As early as January 2021, a team of US, French and British researchers was able to prove that UV light can curb the spread of corona viruses.
The higher the UV radiation, the lower the rate of spread of Covid-19*
: This is how the result of the study can be summarized
, which examined the influence of UV radiation on the corona infection rate.
The research team from the University of Liverpool led by Kieran Sharkey analyzed how the average number of people infected by a corona infected person – also known as the R value – changes due to higher UV radiation.
"Ten kilojoules of additional ultraviolet radiation per square meter lower the R by 0.05,"
Der Spiegel
quotes the researchers as saying.
According to the current state of knowledge, the climate has an influence on the spread of corona viruses.
The humidity shouldn't be too low either
, according to a German-Indian study.
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Against Corona: Researchers recommend 40 to 60 percent humidity indoors
"If the relative humidity of the room air is below 40 percent, the particles emitted by infected people absorb less water, stay lighter, fly further through the room and are more likely to be inhaled by healthy people," quotes the Deutsche Apothekerzeitung (DAZ) Dr. Ajit Ahlawat from the Institute for Tropospheric Research (Tropos) in Leipzig. Together with a colleague from TROPOS and a scientist from the CSIR National Physical Laboratory in New Delhi, India, he evaluated ten international studies.
Between 2007 and 2020, the influence of humidity on the spread and infection with the pathogens of the flu and various corona viruses was examined in these
, according to the DAZ.
"A humidity of at least 40 percent in public buildings and in local transport would therefore not only reduce the effects of COVID-19, but also those of other viral diseases such as seasonal flu," explains Dr. Sumit Kumar Mishra of the National Physical Laboratory presented the study results. According to the authors of the study, the reason for this is that droplets grow faster at higher humidity levels, fall to the ground earlier and are therefore less likely to be inhaled by healthy people.
According to the DAZ, the researchers recommend a relative humidity of 40 to 60 percent indoors
, because this can reduce the spread of viruses and their absorption through the nasal mucosa.
Many indoor plants contribute to a more humid indoor climate.
A humidifier may also be an option.
Simple but effective: place a slightly damp towel on the heater and dry your laundry in the living room.
(jg) *Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.
