Researchers from the University of Nicosia warn that saliva droplets travel further when even the slightest of breezes is present

Scientists say the risk of transmitting the virus is higher when it’s windy.

While there are still many unknowns about the airborne transmission of coronavirus, researchers have warned that saliva droplets travel further when even the slightest of breezes is present.

The study, published in the journal Physics of Fluids, revealed that – with a breeze of just four kilometers-per-hour – droplets travel 18 feet in five seconds.

Study author Professor Dimitris Drikakis, Vice President for Global Partnerships at the University of Nicosia in Cyprus, said: “The droplet cloud will affect both adults and children of different heights.

“Shorter adults and children could be at higher risk if they are located within the trajectory of the traveling saliva droplets.”

Saliva is a complex fluid, and it travels suspended in a bulk of surrounding air released by a cough.

Many factors affect how saliva droplets travel, including the size and number of droplets, how they interact with one another and the surrounding air as they disperse and evaporate and the humidity and temperature of the surrounding air…