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Shousha HI, Ayman H, Hashem MB. Climate Changes and COVID-19. ADVANCES IN EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY 2024; 1458:217-231. [PMID: 39102199 DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-61943-4_14] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/06/2024]
Abstract
Climatic change, which influences population growth and land usage, has been theorized to be linked to the emergence and spread of new viruses like the currently unfolding COVID-19 pandemic. In this chapter, we explain how climate change may have altered the beginning, transmission, and maybe even the sickness consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Where possible, we also provide mechanistic explanations for how this may have occurred. We have presented evidence that suggests climate change may have had a role in the establishment and transmission of SARS-CoV-2 infection, and most possibly even in some of its clinical effects. Human activities bringing people into closer contact with bats and animals like pangolins that potentially represent the intermediate hosts, and evidence that climate-induced changes in vegetation are the main reservoir source of coronaviruses for human infection, are among the explanations. Although there are still unsubstantiated indications that the first viral pathogen may have escaped from a laboratory, it is possible that this encounter took place in the field or in marketplaces in the instance of COVID-19. We also present the argument that climate change is working to enhance transmission between diseased and uninfected humans, and this is true regardless of the source of the original development of the disease. Changes in temperature and humidity make it easier for viruses to survive, and the impacts of industrial pollution induce people to cough and sneeze, which releases highly infectious aerosols into the air. These three factors combine to make this a more likely scenario than it would otherwise be. We suggest that changes in climate are contributing to create conditions that are favorable for the development of more severe symptoms of illness. It is more difficult to build the argument for this circumstance, and much of it is indirect. However, climate change has caused some communities to adjust their nutritional habits, both in terms of the quantity of food they eat and the quality of the foods they consume. The effects frequently become apparent as a result of alterations that are imposed on the microbiome of the gut, which, in turn, influence the types of immune responses that are produced. The incidence of comorbidities like diabetes and animal vectors like bats that transmit other illnesses that modify vulnerability to SARS-CoV-2 are also two examples of the factors that have been affected by climate change. In order to curb the development of infectious illnesses caused by new viruses, it is necessary to understand the connection between environmental dynamics and the emergence of new coronaviruses. This knowledge should lead to initiatives aimed at reducing global greenhouse gas emissions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hend Ibrahim Shousha
- Faculty of Medicine, Endemic Medicine and Hepatogastroenterology, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt.
| | - Hedy Ayman
- Faculty of Medicine, Endemic Medicine and Hepatogastroenterology, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt
| | - Mohamed B Hashem
- Faculty of Medicine, Endemic Medicine and Hepatogastroenterology, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt
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Hernandez Carballo I, Bakola M, Stuckler D. The impact of air pollution on COVID-19 incidence, severity, and mortality: A systematic review of studies in Europe and North America. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2022; 215:114155. [PMID: 36030916 PMCID: PMC9420033 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2022.114155] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2022] [Revised: 08/16/2022] [Accepted: 08/17/2022] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Air pollution is speculated to increase the risks of COVID-19 spread, severity, and mortality. OBJECTIVES We systematically reviewed studies investigating the relationship between air pollution and COVID-19 cases, non-fatal severity, and mortality in North America and Europe. METHODS We searched PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus for studies investigating the effects of harmful pollutants, including particulate matter with diameter ≤2.5 or 10 μm (PM2.5 or PM10), ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2) and carbon monoxide (CO), on COVID-19 cases, severity, and deaths in Europe and North America through to June 19, 2021. Articles were included if they quantitatively measured the relationship between exposure to air pollution and COVID-19 health outcomes. RESULTS From 2,482 articles screened, we included 116 studies reporting 355 separate pollutant-COVID-19 estimates. Approximately half of all evaluations on incidence were positive and significant associations (52.7%); for mortality the corresponding figure was similar (48.1%), while for non-fatal severity this figure was lower (41.2%). Longer-term exposure to pollutants appeared more likely to be positively associated with COVID-19 incidence (63.8%). PM2.5, PM10, O3, NO2, and CO were most strongly positively associated with COVID-19 incidence, while PM2.5 and NO2 with COVID-19 deaths. All studies were observational and most exhibited high risk of confounding and outcome measurement bias. DISCUSSION Air pollution may be associated with worse COVID-19 outcomes. Future research is needed to better test the air pollution-COVID-19 hypothesis, particularly using more robust study designs and COVID-19 measures that are less prone to measurement error and by considering co-pollutant interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ireri Hernandez Carballo
- Department of Social and Political Sciences, Bocconi University, Milan, Lombardy, Italy; RFF-CMCC European Institute of Economics and the Environment, Centro Euro-Mediterraneo Sui Cambiamenti Climatici, Milan, Lombardy, Italy.
| | - Maria Bakola
- Research Unit for General Medicine and Primary Health Care, Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Science, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece
| | - David Stuckler
- Department of Social and Political Sciences, Bocconi University, Milan, Lombardy, Italy; DONDENA Centre for Research on Social Dynamics and Public Policy, Bocconi University, Milan, Lombardy, Italy
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Ford JD, Zavaleta-Cortijo C, Ainembabazi T, Anza-Ramirez C, Arotoma-Rojas I, Bezerra J, Chicmana-Zapata V, Galappaththi EK, Hangula M, Kazaana C, Lwasa S, Namanya D, Nkwinti N, Nuwagira R, Okware S, Osipova M, Pickering K, Singh C, Berrang-Ford L, Hyams K, Miranda JJ, Naylor A, New M, van Bavel B. Interactions between climate and COVID-19. Lancet Planet Health 2022; 6:e825-e833. [PMID: 36208645 PMCID: PMC9534524 DOI: 10.1016/s2542-5196(22)00174-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2021] [Revised: 06/25/2022] [Accepted: 07/12/2022] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
In this Personal View, we explain the ways that climatic risks affect the transmission, perception, response, and lived experience of COVID-19. First, temperature, wind, and humidity influence the transmission of COVID-19 in ways not fully understood, although non-climatic factors appear more important than climatic factors in explaining disease transmission. Second, climatic extremes coinciding with COVID-19 have affected disease exposure, increased susceptibility of people to COVID-19, compromised emergency responses, and reduced health system resilience to multiple stresses. Third, long-term climate change and prepandemic vulnerabilities have increased COVID-19 risk for some populations (eg, marginalised communities). The ways climate and COVID-19 interact vary considerably between and within populations and regions, and are affected by dynamic and complex interactions with underlying socioeconomic, political, demographic, and cultural conditions. These conditions can lead to vulnerability, resilience, transformation, or collapse of health systems, communities, and livelihoods throughout varying timescales. It is important that COVID-19 response and recovery measures consider climatic risks, particularly in locations that are susceptible to climate extremes, through integrated planning that includes public health, disaster preparedness, emergency management, sustainable development, and humanitarian response.
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Affiliation(s)
- James D Ford
- Priestley International Centre for Climate, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.
| | - Carol Zavaleta-Cortijo
- Intercultural Citizenship and Indigenous Health Unit, Cayetano Heredia University, Lima, Peru
| | - Triphini Ainembabazi
- Department of Geography, Geo-Informatics, and Climatic Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
| | - Cecilia Anza-Ramirez
- Center of Excellence in Chronic Diseases, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru
| | | | - Joana Bezerra
- Community Engagement, Rhodes University, Makhanda, South Africa
| | | | | | - Martha Hangula
- Department of Livestock Production, Agribusiness, and Economics, University of Namibia, Oshakati, Namibia
| | | | - Shuaib Lwasa
- Department of Geography, Geo-Informatics, and Climatic Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
| | | | - Nosipho Nkwinti
- Community Engagement, Rhodes University, Makhanda, South Africa
| | | | - Samuel Okware
- Uganda National Health Research Organisation, Entebbe, Uganda
| | - Maria Osipova
- Arctic State Institute of Culture and Arts, North-Eastern Federal University, Yakutsk, Russia
| | - Kerrie Pickering
- Sustainability Research Centre, University of the Sunshine Coast, Buderim, QLD, Australia
| | - Chandni Singh
- School of Environment and Sustainability, Indian Institute for Human Settlements, Bangalore, India
| | - Lea Berrang-Ford
- Priestley International Centre for Climate, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
| | - Keith Hyams
- Department of Politics and International Studies, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK
| | - J Jaime Miranda
- Center of Excellence in Chronic Diseases, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru
| | - Angus Naylor
- School of Public Health and Social Policy, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada
| | - Mark New
- Environmental and Geographical Science, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Bianca van Bavel
- Priestley International Centre for Climate, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
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Ganguly R, Sharma D, Kumar P. Short-term impacts of air pollutants in three megacities of India during COVID-19 lockdown. ENVIRONMENT, DEVELOPMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY 2021; 23:18204-18231. [PMID: 33907505 PMCID: PMC8062216 DOI: 10.1007/s10668-021-01434-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2020] [Accepted: 04/12/2021] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
Lockdown was imposed by the Indian government in the month of March 2020 as an early precaution to the COVID-19 pandemic which obstructed the socio-economic growth globally. The main aim of this study was to analyse the impact of lockdown (imposed in March and continued in April 2020) on the existing air quality in three megacities of India (Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata) by assessing the trends of PM10 and NO2 concentrations. A comparison of the percentage reduction in concentrations of lockdown period with respect to same period in year 2019 and pre-lockdown period (February 14-March 24) was made. It was observed from the study that an overall decrease of pollutant concentrations was in the ranges of 30-60% and 52-80% of PM10 and NO2, respectively, in the three cities during lockdown in comparison with previous year and pre-lockdown period. The overall decrease in concentrations of pollutants at urban sites was greater than the background sites. Highest decline in concentrations of PM10 were observed in Kolkata city, followed by Mumbai and Delhi, while decline in NO2 was highest in Mumbai. Results also highlighted that capital city Delhi had the worst air quality amongst three cities, with particulate matter (PM10) being the dominant pollutant. Although COVID-19 has significantly affected the human life considering the mortality and morbidity, lockdowns imposed to control the pandemic had significantly improved the air quality in the selected study locations, although for the short amount of period.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rajiv Ganguly
- Department of Civil Engineering, Jaypee University of Information Technology, Waknaghat, District Solan, Himachal Pradesh 173234 India
| | - Divyansh Sharma
- Department of Civil Engineering, Jaypee University of Information Technology, Waknaghat, District Solan, Himachal Pradesh 173234 India
| | - Prashant Kumar
- Global Centre for Clean Air Research (GCARE), Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford, GU2 7XH United Kingdom
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Radiative Effect and Mixing Processes of a Long-Lasting Dust Event over Athens, Greece, during the COVID-19 Period. ATMOSPHERE 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/atmos12030318] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
We report on a long-lasting (10 days) Saharan dust event affecting large sections of South-Eastern Europe by using a synergy of lidar, satellite, in-situ observations and model simulations over Athens, Greece. The dust measurements (11–20 May 2020), performed during the confinement period due to the COVID-19 pandemic, revealed interesting features of the aerosol dust properties in the absence of important air pollution sources over the European continent. During the event, moderate aerosol optical depth (AOD) values (0.3–0.4) were observed inside the dust layer by the ground-based lidar measurements (at 532 nm). Vertical profiles of the lidar ratio and the particle linear depolarization ratio (at 355 nm) showed mean layer values of the order of 47 ± 9 sr and 28 ± 5%, respectively, revealing the coarse non-spherical mode of the probed plume. The values reported here are very close to pure dust measurements performed during dedicated campaigns in the African continent. By utilizing Libradtran simulations for two scenarios (one for typical midlatitude atmospheric conditions and one having reduced atmospheric pollutants due to COVID-19 restrictions, both affected by a free tropospheric dust layer), we revealed negligible differences in terms of radiative effect, of the order of +2.6% (SWBOA, cooling behavior) and +1.9% (LWBOA, heating behavior). Moreover, the net heating rate (HR) at the bottom of the atmosphere (BOA) was equal to +0.156 K/d and equal to +2.543 K/d within 1–6 km due to the presence of the dust layer at that height. On the contrary, the reduction in atmospheric pollutants could lead to a negative HR (−0.036 K/d) at the bottom of the atmosphere (BOA) if dust aerosols were absent, while typical atmospheric conditions are estimated to have an almost zero net HR value (+0.006 K/d). The NMMB-BSC forecast model provided the dust mass concentration over Athens, while the air mass advection from the African to the European continent was simulated by the Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model.
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