Findings reveal links between weather characteristics and excess mortality in influenza epidemics, suggesting improved preventive measures are needed.
The findings suggest that weather indicators, particularly air temperature and absolute humidity, play an important role in the timing and severity of epidemics, and that these parameters differ with the predominant influenza virus. In the temperate climate of Central Europe, the circulation of the A/H3N2 virus in the population, combined with prolonged periods of low temperatures, results in influenza epidemics with the largest excess mortality. These findings highlight the need for a better understanding of weather conditions that increase influenza transmission and survival, and for distinguishing between predominant virus subtypes when informing at-risk populations, implementing preventive measures, and mitigating negative impacts.
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Hanzlíková et al. (2025) studied this question.
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