scholarly journals Atmospheric conditions affecting the transmission of COVID-19 virus

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 1487
Author(s):  
Purva Shoor ◽  
Gagan Deep Kaur ◽  
Amanjot Kaur Chauhan
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Respiratory Infections ◽  
Fine Particulate Matter ◽  
Air Pollution Control ◽  
Atmospheric Conditions ◽  
Contributing Factors ◽  
Air Velocity ◽  
Fine Particulate ◽  
Low Humidity

The physical environment plays an important role in the transmission of respiratory infections like COVID-19. Atmospheric conditions associated to diseases like influenza, adenovirus infections, parainfluenza, common cold viruses and so on. But we are still lacking in evidence to support the influence of meteorological conditions in spreading COVID-19. We have discussed air pollution, smoking, low air temperature, and proximity to equator, low humidity and air velocity as contributing factors in the spread of SARS-CoV-2 through this narrative synthesis. Bio-aerosol or ultra-fine particulate matter seems to be the most promising mode of transmission of COVID-19. Other methods are direct contact and droplet infection. Air pollution control can prevent priming of respiratory system which shall further protect from pulmonary infections. Air sanitization and humidifiers can be considered to modify the indoor air and prevent contracting infection at workplaces, schools and other gatherings.

scholarly journals Atmospheric Conditions Affecting the Transmission of Covid-19 Virus

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dr. Purva Shoor ◽  
Dr Gagan Deep Kaur ◽  
Dr Amanjot Kaur Chauhan
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Respiratory Infection ◽  
Physical Environment ◽  
Respiratory Infections ◽  
Air Pollution Control ◽  
Atmospheric Conditions ◽  
Contributing Factors ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
High Level

The physical environment plays an important role in the transmission of respiratory infections like Covid-19. To find relevant articles on environmental factors influencing respiratory infection outbreaks, we searched Pub med Central on the following topics: 1. Environmental pollution causing coronavirus fatality- 73 results, relevant 1 article, 2. Environmental factors affecting Covid-19, 149 results from which there were 6 relevant articles, 3. Impact of air pollution on Covid-19 fatality, 10 results, relevant 3 articles, 4. Environmental factors affecting respiratory viruses- 10646 results were obtained, 2 relevant articles. We searched Google scholar on environmental factors affecting Covid-19 transmission and found 7 relevant papers. We excluded the duplicates in each of the key words search. Date of search was on 20th April 2020. All articles included in results were scrutinized and relevance of articles was based on their content that discussed meteorological and physical environment factors in the spread and severity of Covid-19. We have discussed factors like air pollution, smoking, air temperature, humidity and air velocity as contributing factors. If meteorological factors are conducive to spread in a particular area, we need protective measures way before a respiratory infection outbreak occurs. Covid-19 is a lesson learnt the hard way, and we must enable people to practice hygienic practices with limited resources but high level of protection that it provides. Air pollution control can prevent priming of respiratory system which shall further protect from pulmonary infections.

scholarly journals Impact of air pollution control measures and regional transport on carbonaceous aerosols in fine particulate matter in urban Beijing, China: insights gained from long-term measurement

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (13) ◽  
pp. 8569-8590 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dongsheng Ji ◽  
Wenkang Gao ◽  
Willy Maenhaut ◽  
Jun He ◽  
Zhe Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Particulate Matter ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Pollution Control ◽  
Fine Particulate Matter ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Air Pollution Control ◽  
Heavy Duty ◽  
Potential Source ◽  
Fine Particulate

Abstract. As major chemical components of airborne fine particulate matter (PM2.5), organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) have vital impacts on air quality, climate change, and human health. Because OC and EC are closely associated with fuel combustion, it is helpful for the scientific community and policymakers assessing the efficacy of air pollution control measures to study the impact of control measures and regional transport on OC and EC levels. In this study, hourly mass concentrations of OC and EC associated with PM2.5 were semi-continuously measured from March 2013 to February 2018. The results showed that annual mean OC and EC concentrations declined from 14.0 to 7.7 µg m−3 and from 4.0 to 2.6 µg m−3, respectively, from March 2013 to February 2018. In combination with the data of OC and EC in previous studies, an obvious decreasing trend in OC and EC concentrations was found, which was caused by clean energy policies and effective air pollution control measures. However, no obvious change in the ratios of OC and EC to the PM2.5 mass (on average, 0.164 and 0.049, respectively) was recorded, suggesting that inorganic ions still contributed a lot to PM2.5. Based on the seasonal variations in OC and EC, it appeared that higher OC and EC concentrations were still observed in the winter months, with the exception of winter of 2017–2018. Traffic policies executed in Beijing resulted in nighttime peaks of OC and EC, caused by heavy-duty vehicles and heavy-duty diesel vehicles being permitted to operate from 00:00 to 06:00 (China standard time, UTC+8, for all times throughout the paper). In addition, the fact that there was no traffic restriction in weekends led to higher concentrations on weekends compared to weekdays. Significant correlations between OC and EC were observed throughout the study period, suggesting that OC and EC originated from common emission sources, such as exhaust of vehicles and fuel combustion. OC and EC levels increased with enhanced SO2, CO, and NOx concentrations while the O3 and OC levels were enhanced simultaneously when O3 concentrations were higher than 50 µg m−3. Non-parametric wind regression analysis was performed to examine the sources of OC and EC in the Beijing area. It was found that there were distinct hot spots in the northeast wind sector at wind speeds of approximately 0–6 km h−1, as well as diffuse signals in the southwestern wind sectors. Source areas further away from Beijing were assessed by potential source contribution function (PSCF) analysis. A high-potential source area was precisely pinpointed, which was located in the northwestern and southern areas of Beijing in 2017 instead of solely in the southern areas of Beijing in 2013. This work shows that improvement of the air quality in Beijing benefits from strict control measures; however, joint prevention and control of regional air pollution in the regions is needed for further improving the air quality. The results provide a reference for controlling air pollution caused by rapid economic development in developing countries.

scholarly journals Impact of air pollution control measures and regional transport on carbonaceous aerosols in fine particulate matter in urban Beijing, China: Insights gained from long-term measurement

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dongsheng Ji ◽  
Wenkang Gao ◽  
Willy Maenhaut ◽  
Jun He ◽  
Zhe Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Particulate Matter ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Pollution Control ◽  
Fine Particulate Matter ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Air Pollution Control ◽  
Heavy Duty ◽  
Potential Source ◽  
Fine Particulate

Abstract. As major chemical components of airborne fine particulate matter (PM2.5), organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) have vital impacts on air quality, climate change, and human health. Because OC and EC are closely associated with fuel combustion, it is helpful for the scientific community and policymakers assessing the efficacy of air pollution control measures to study on the impact of the control measures and regional transport on the OC and EC levels. In this study, hourly mass concentrations of OC and EC associated with PM2.5 were semi-continuously measured from March 2013 to February 2018. The results showed that annual mean OC and EC concentrations declined from 14.0 to 7.7 μg/m3 and from 4.0 to 2.6 μg/m3, respectively, from March 2013 to February 2018. In combination with the data of OC and EC in previous studies, an obvious decreasing trend in OC and EC concentrations was found, which was caused by clean energy policies and effective air pollution control measures. However, no obvious change in the ratios of OC and EC to the PM2.5 mass (on average, 0.164 and 0.049, respectively) was recorded, suggesting that inorganic ions still contributed a lot to PM2.5. Based on the seasonal variations of OC and EC, it appeared that higher OC and EC concentrations were still observed in the winter months, with the exception of winter of 2017–2018. Traffic policies executed in Beijing resulted in nighttime peaks of OC and EC, caused by heavy-duty vehicles and heavy-duty diesel vehicles being permitted to operate from 0:00 to 6:00. In addition, the fact that there was no traffic restriction in weekends led to higher concentrations in weekends compared to weekdays. Significant correlations between OC and EC were observed throughout the study period, suggesting that OC and EC originated from common emission sources, such as exhaust of vehicles and fuel combustion. OC and EC levels increased with enhanced SO2, CO and NOx concentrations while the O3 and OC levels enhanced simultaneously when O3 concentrations were higher than 50 μg/m3. Nonparametric wind regression analysis was performed to examine the sources of OC and EC in the Beijing area. It was found that there were distinct hot spots in the northeast wind sector at wind speeds of approximately 5 km/h, as well as diffuse signals in the southwestern wind sectors, highlighting probable trans-boundary transport from highly industrialized regions upwind of the Hebei province, such as Baoding, Shijiazhuang and Handan, which were the most polluted cities in China. This was consistent with their higher potential as source areas, as determined by the potential source contribution function (PSCF) analysis. A high-potential source area was precisely pinpointed, which was located in the northwestern and southern areas of Beijing in 2017 instead of solely in the southern areas of Beijing in 2013. This work shows that improvement of the air quality in Beijing benefits from strict control measures; however, joint prevention and control of regional air pollution in the regions is needed for further improving the air quality. The results provide a reference for controlling air pollution caused by rapid economic development in developing countries.

scholarly journals Fine Particulate Matter Exposure and Blood Pressure: Evidence from a Chinese Large Multiple Follow-Up Study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bahabaike Jiangtulu ◽  
Changxin Lan ◽  
Junxi Chen ◽  
Bin Wang ◽  
Tao Xue
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Air Pollution ◽  
Particulate Matter ◽  
Regression Model ◽  
Pollution Control ◽  
Fine Particulate Matter ◽  
Pollution Prevention ◽  
Air Pollution Control ◽  
Fine Particulate

Abstract Background: Long-term exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5 or FPM) may cause adverse effects on cardiovascular diseases. However, evidence that whether improved air quality can decrease blood pressure (BP) in humans is still needed from a large population study. Methods: Our study aimed to investigate the association of population ambient PM2.5 exposure with the blood pressure (BP) changes in China with implementing the Action Plan on Air Pollution Prevention and Control. A total of14,080 participants who had at least two valid visits were adopted from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Survey (CHARLS) during 2011–2015. Their long-term PM2.5 exposure was assessed at the geographical level of a regular 0.1° × 0.1° grid over China. A mixed-effects regression model was used to assess their associations. The robustness and homogeneity of the association were tested via sensitivity analyses. Results: The results revealed that each reduction of 10 µg/m3 in the 1 year-mean PM2.5 concentration (FPM1Y) was associated with a decrease of 1.24 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.84–1.64) mmHg of systolic BP (SBP) and 0.50 (95% CI: 0.25–0.75) mmHg of diastolic BP (DBP), respectively. A robust association was observed between the long-term reduction of PM2.5 and decreased BP in the middle-aged and elderly population in China. These findings were further confirmed by a non-linear regression model. Conclusions: We concluded that air pollution control for PM2.5 can obviously promote vascular health. Our study provided robust scientific support for making the air pollution control policies.

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