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Recently, snowfall in north China's Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region attracted much attention. On the Chinese social media platform Weibo, people who have been staying at home for weeks to prevent getting infected with the novel coronavirus started to wonder if the snow can freeze or even kill the virus, enabling people to go outdoors for a walk in the fresh air.
The snowfall in Beijing on February 6, 2020.
Technically, snow does help clear the air pollution. Snow forms when water droplets in the air freeze into snow crystals. These crystals will stick together, until they become heavy enough to fall to the ground. During this process, small particles in the air, which possibly contain viruses will stick to the snow crystals. Without these particles, after a snowfall the air is usually more fresh and clean.
Snow can help clear the air.
However, this does not mean the snow can freeze or kill the virus. According to an interview with experts from hospitals in Beijing, not all viruses will be inactivated by low temperatures.
The current knowledge about the virus is still too limited to draw any conclusions in this regard. Hence, whether the snowfall will have any kind of effect on the coronavirus outbreak is an issue that still needs to be investigated.
The picture of novel coronavirus.
Based on this analysis, experts indicate that it is not recommended for people to go outdoor and play in the snow. Besides, be sure to put on face masks and wash your hands frequently is still essential to prevent the infection by the coronavirus.
(Cover photo via VCG, designed by CGTN's Jia Jieqiong)
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