The world should establish an early warning system for new viral infectious diseases by space-weather monitoring

Correlation analysis between the occurrence of epidemic in ancient China and solar activity

As the globe has witnessed the pandemic, epidemic diseases exert a strong impact on human beings and ecosystems. Since the Sun is the primary energy source of the Earth, some scientific pioneers attempted to search for the discernible relation between solar activity and the incidence of epidemics. In this study, the periodic changes and trends of ancient Chinese epidemic data were analyzed in comparison with those of sunspot numbers, a solar activity proxy. The results show that the epidemic and solar activity changes are in good agreement to a certain extent, especially during the Gleissberg and the de Vries cycles. The wavelet coherence shows that the frequency of the epidemic data and sunspot numbers are highly associated. In addition, results from the ensemble empirical mode decomposition illustrate consistent variations in low-frequency decompositions. This study has important implications for further understanding of the potential impact of solar activity on Earth's biosphere, the underlying mechanism of which needs further exploration.

What sunspots are whispering about covid-19?

Several studies point to the antimicrobial effects of ELF electromagnetic fields. Such fields have accompanied life from the very beginning, and it is possible that they played a significant role in its emergence and evolution. However, the literature on the biological effects of ELF electromagnetic fields is controversial, and we still lack an understanding of the complex mechanisms that make such effects, observed in many experiments, possible. The Covid-19 pandemic has shown how fragile we are in the face of powerful processes operating in the biosphere. We believe that understanding the role of ELF electromagnetic fields in regulating the biosphere is important in our fight against Covid-19, and research in this direction should be intensified.

The world should establish an early warning system for new viral infectious diseases by space-weather monitoring

With the emergence of several new epidemics of viral infections – SARS, MERS, EBOLA, ZIKA, Influenza A (H1N1) pandemic,Covid‐2019 ‐ over the past 3 decades we suggest that a world‐wide programme of stratospheric surveillance and space weather monitoring should be urgently put in place without further delay.