Airborne virus transmission under different weather conditions

TL;DR

This study models how airborne virus-laden droplets evolve under different weather conditions, highlighting the importance of environmental factors in virus spread and the necessity of masks.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed physical model of droplet behavior considering evaporation, gravity, and diffusion under varying weather conditions, providing insights into virus transmission dynamics.

Findings

Larger droplets tend to settle quickly due to gravity.

Small evaporated droplets can remain suspended for long periods.

Weather conditions significantly influence droplet evaporation and travel distance.

Abstract

The COVID19 infection is known to disseminate through droplets ejected by infected individuals during coughing, sneezing, speaking and breathing. The spread of the infection and hence its menace depend on how the virus-loaded droplets evolve in space and time with changing environmental conditions. In view of this, we investigate the evolution of the droplets within the purview of the Brownian motion of the evaporating droplets in the air with varying weather conditions under the action of gravity. We track the movement of the droplets till either they gravitationally settle on the ground or evaporate to aerosols of size 2$\mu$m or less. Droplets with radii $2 \mu$m or less may continue to diffuse and remain suspended in the air for long time. The effects of relative humidity and temperature on the evaporation are found to be significant. We note that under strong flowing conditions droplets travel large distances. It is found that the bigger droplets fall on the ground due to the dominance of gravity over the diffusive force despite the loss of mass due to evaporation. The smaller evaporating droplets may not settle on the ground but remain suspended in the air due to the dominance of the diffusive force. The fate of the intermediate size droplets depends on the weather conditions and play crucial roles in the spread of the infection. These environment dependent effects indicate that the maintenance of physical separation to evade the virus is not corroborated, making the use of face mask indispensable.