Abstract
Solar UV-C photons do not reach Earth’s surface, but are known to be endowed with germicidal properties that are also effective on viruses. The effect of softer UV-B/A photons, which reach the Earth’s surface, on viruses are instead little studied.
Here we show that the evolution and strength of the recent SARS-Cov-2 pandemics, might have been modulated by the intensity of UV-B/A Solar radiation hitting different regions of Earth during the diffusion of the outbreak. Our results suggest that Solar UV-B/A may play an important role in planning new strategies of confinement of the epidemics.
Competing Interest Statement
The authors have declared no competing interest.
Funding Statement
no external funding was received
Author Declarations
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University of Milano INAF
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The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, the Sergey Brin Family Foundation, California Institute of Technology, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Imperial College London, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, University of Washington, and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.