Air Pollution, Meteorology, and COVID-19

Effects of air pollution reductions on mortality during the COVID-19 lockdown; and role of meteorological factors in the transmission of SARS-CoV-2

Effect of air pollution reductions on mortality during the COVID-19 lockdown: A natural experiment study

With funding from the Health Effects Institute, we will conduct a multicountry study to evaluate whether changes in mortality are associated with changes in ambient NO2 and PM2.5 levels before, during, and after the lockdown and disentangle the short-term effects of NO2 versus PM2.5 on mortality.

While physical distancing and the use of face masks are well-known factors in preventing the spread of COVID-19, our recent research links meteorological variables such as temperature, humidity, and ultraviolet (UV) radiation to the transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. found that warmer temperatures (above 20° Celsius), increased humidity, and higher levels of UV radiation were moderately associated with a lower reproductive number (a measurement of how many new infections are caused by a single infected person in a fully susceptible population), meaning that these factors were likewise associated with decreased person-to-person transmission. Of the three factors, absolute humidity played the greatest role.

The study is published in the journal Nature Communications.