Journal of Astrobiology & Outreach

Abstrait

Revisiting an Old Hypothesis: Should We Narrow Our Search for a Possible Link between Sunspot Cycles and Viral Infection Outbreaks Primarily to Nordic Countries?

Seyed Alireza Mortazavi, Joseph J Bevelacqua, Abdollah Jafarzadeh, Seyed Mohammad Javad Mortazavi, James S Welsh*

This commentary expresses our viewpoints regarding the possible relationship between solar activity cycles and viral outbreaks, including the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic and the recent COVID-19 pandemic. We discuss whether the diminished solar activity associated with solar minima (when the number of sunspots decreases) can influence virally caused outbreaks. Earth’s geomagnetic field deflects electrically charged particles and funnels them towards the magnetic poles of the northern and southern hemispheres. Given this consideration, we also discuss whether research should focus on possible linkages between solar cycles and viral outbreaks primarily in Nordic countries.