Air pollution is linked to higher COVID-19 death rates, says study

Higher levels of pollutants in the air may be associated with an increased number of deaths from COVID-19. The study has been substantiated by two sets of research reports.

The first research, published in the journal Science of the Total Environment at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) in Germany, combined satellite data on air pollution and air currents with confirmed deaths related to COVID-19. It revealed that regions with permanently high levels of nitrogen dioxide have significantly more deaths than other regions.

Nitrogen dioxide is an air pollutant that damages the human respiratory tract. For many years it has been known to cause many types of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases in humans. It is usually produced by cars, power plants and other industrial facilities.

Among the studied five coronavirus hotspot regions in Europe -- four in northern Italy and one in the Madrid region of Spain -- were Europe’s two main “hotspots” of nitrogen dioxide concentration, regions in which pollution was easily trapped by the surrounding mountains.

In another study, researchers at Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health analysed air pollution and deaths from coronavirus in the United States. They found that coronavirus patients living under high levels of PM 2.5 are more likely to die. The scientists found that a small increase in long-term exposure to PM 2.5 could lead to a large increase in COVID-19 death rate.

To carry out the study, researchers at Harvard University collected data from approximately 3,000 counties in the United States up to April 4, 2020.

The latest finding comes at a time when scientists are looking into the possible link between coronavirus cases and air pollution. Governments in Asia, Africa and South America, usually the most polluted areas in the world, are struggling to enforce strict measures to contain the spread of the virus and save more lives.