Uploaded February 2023 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Interview with Richard Zare by Lorie Karnath, Molecular Frontiers Journal
If we are to protect ourselves as well as guard against a new pandemic, the relative humidity of indoor air (iRH) need to be monitored and maintained at humidity levels close to that found outdoors in the summertime. In industrialized nations most people spend 80-90% of their time indoors, and we know that indoor air pollution is a leading cause of many illnesses. However most indoor spaces fail to address the importance of relative humidity. Ventilation, and filtering alone, are not the answer. A sterilized, low iRH, environment is not healthy. We are beginning to understand how low indoor relative humidity promotes virus viability when released in droplets, not simply from coughing or sneezing but also from speaking and singing. See, for example, A. Davidse and R. N. Zare, “Effect of relative humidity in air on the transmission of respiratory viruses,” Molecular Frontiers Journal 5, 1-13 (2021).We must get away from the distorted environment of hermetically sealed ventilated spaces and work toward restoring a more natural environment in which we evolved to thrive.
Interview with Richard Zare by Lorie Karnath, Molecular Frontiers Journal
If we are to protect ourselves as well as guard against a new pandemic, the relative humidity of indoor air (iRH) need to be monitored and maintained at humidity levels close to that found outdoors in the summertime. In industrialized nations most people spend 80-90% of their time indoors, and we know that indoor air pollution is a leading cause of many illnesses. However most indoor spaces fail to address the importance of relative humidity. Ventilation, and filtering alone, are not the answer. A sterilized, low iRH, environment is not healthy. We are beginning to understand how low indoor relative humidity promotes virus viability when released in droplets, not simply from coughing or sneezing but also from speaking and singing. See, for example, A. Davidse and R. N. Zare, “Effect of relative humidity in air on the transmission of respiratory viruses,” Molecular Frontiers Journal 5, 1-13 (2021).We must get away from the distorted environment of hermetically sealed ventilated spaces and work toward restoring a more natural environment in which we evolved to thrive.
