id	author	title	date	pages	extension	mime	words	sentences	flesch	summary	cache	txt
cord-146091-kpvxdhcu	Sanchez-Lorenzo, Arturo	Anomalous atmospheric circulation favored the spread of COVID-19 in Europe	2020-04-26		.txt	text/plain	3235	166	52	In this study we show that an unusual persistent anticyclonic situation prevailing in southwestern Europe during February 2020 (i.e. anomalously strong positive phase of the North Atlantic and Arctic Oscillations) could have resulted in favorable conditions, in terms of air temperature and humidity, in Italy and Spain for a quicker spread of the virus compared with the rest of the European countries. These results evidence that it seems plausible that the positive phase of the NAO, and the atmospheric conditions associated with it, provided optimal conditions for the spread of the COVID-19 in southern countries like Spain and Italy, where both the start and the most severe impacts of the outbreak in Europe were located. Taking into account these results, we claim that the major initial outbreaks of COVID-19 in Europe (i.e., Italy and Spain) may be favored by an anomalous atmospheric circulation pattern in February, characterized by a positive phase of the NAO and AO.	./cache/cord-146091-kpvxdhcu.txt	./txt/cord-146091-kpvxdhcu.txt