Air pollution may be ‘key contributor’ to Coronavirus deaths

New research examined the relationship between [1] levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), a pollutant produced mostly by older diesel vehicles, [2] weather conditions that can prevent dirty air from dispersing away from a city and [3] Coronavirus fatalities[1]. Long-term exposure to NO2 can cause severe health problems, such as hypertension, diabetes, heart and cardiovascular diseases and even death.

[Dense smog over Milan]

The analysis was conducted on a regional scale and combined with the number of deaths taken from 66 administrative regions in Italy, Spain, France and Germany. Results show that out of the 4443 fatality cases, 3487 (78%) were in five regions located in north Italy and central Spain. Additionally, the same five regions show the highest NO₂ concentrations combined with downwards airflow which prevent an efficient dispersion of air pollution.

These results indicate that the long-term exposure to this pollutant may be one of the most important contributors to fatality caused by the Coronavirus in these regions and thus maybe across the whole world.

“Poisoning our environment means poisoning our own body, and when it experiences chronic respiratory stress its ability to defend itself from infections is limited,” said Yaron Ogen, who conducted the research.

The analysis is only able to show a strong correlation, not a causal link. “It is now necessary to examine whether the presence of an initial inflammatory condition is related to the response of the immune system to the coronavirus,” Ogen said.

A separate study looked at fine particle pollution (PM₁₀, PM_2.5) in the northern Italy and found that even small increases in levels in the years before the pandemic were associated with far higher death rates if infected with the Coronavirus[2].

Did I already mention that sigarette smoke also contain those pesky fine particles (PM_2.5)[3]?

[1] Ogen: Assessing nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) levels as a contributing factor to coronavirus (COVID-19) fatality in The Science of the Total Environment – 2020. See here. 
[2] Conticini et al: Can atmospheric pollution be considered a co-factor in extremely high level of SARS-CoV-2 lethality in Northern Italy? in Environmental Pollution - 2020. See here. 
[3] Jebel et al: Surface bound radicals, char yield and particulate size from the burning of tobacco cigarette in Chemistry Central Journal - 2017