The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused a crisis worldwide, due to both its public health impact and socio-economic consequences. Mental health was consistently affected by the pandemic, with the emergence of newly diagnosed psychiatric disorders and the exacerbation of pre-existing ones. Urban areas were particularly affected by the virus spread. In this review, we analyze how the urban environment may influence mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic, considering two factors that profoundly characterize urbanization: air pollution and migration. Air pollution serves as a possibly risk factor for higher viral spread and infection severity in the context of urban areas and it has also been demonstrated to play a role in the development of serious mental illnesses and their relapses. The urban environment also represents a complex social context where minorities such as migrants may live in poor hygienic conditions and lack access to adequate mental health care. A global rethinking of the urban environment is thus required to reduce the impact of these factors on mental health. This should include actions aimed at reducing air pollution and combating climate change, promoting at the same time a more inclusive society in a sustainable development perspective.
Global health threats including epidemics and climate change, know no political borders and require regional collaboration if they are to be dealt with effectively. This paper starts with a review of the COVID-19 outbreak in Israel, Palestine and Jordan, in the context of the regional health systems, demography and politics. We suggest that Israel and Palestine function as one epidemiological unit, due to extensive border crossing of inhabitants and tourists, resulting in cross-border infections and potential for outbreaks’ transmission. Indeed, there is a correlation between the numbers of confirmed cases with a 2-3 weeks lag. In contrast, Jordan has the ability to seal its borders and better contain the spread of the virus. We then discuss comparative public health aspects in relation to the management of COVID-19 and long term adaptation to climate change. We suggest that lessons from the current crisis can inform regional adaptation to climate change. There is an urgent need for better health surveillance, data sharing across borders, and more resilient health systems that are prepared and equipped for emergencies. Another essential and currently missing prerequisite is close cooperation within and across countries amidst political conflict, in order to protect the public health of all inhabitants of the region.
Purpose This article examines US official and public responses to the COVID-19 pandemic for insights into future policy and pubic responses to global climate change. Design/methodology/approach This article compares two contemporary global threats to human health and well-being: the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change. We identify several similarities and differences between the two environmental phenomena and explore their implications for public and policy responses to future climate-related disasters and disruptions. Findings Our review of research on environmental and public health crises reveals that though these two crises appear quite distinct, some useful comparisons can be made. We analyze several features of the pandemic for their implications for possible future responses to global climate change: elasticity of public responses to crises; recognition of environmental, health, racial, and social injustice; demand for effective governance; and resilience of the natural world. Originality/value This paper examines public and policy responses to the coronavirus pandemic for their implications for mitigating and adapting to future climate crises.
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought profound social, political, economic, and environmental challenges to the world. The virus may have emerged from wildlife reservoirs linked to environmental disruption, was transmitted to humans via the wildlife trade, and its spread was facilitated by economic globalization. The pandemic arrived at a time when wildfires, high temperatures, floods, and storms amplified human suffering. These challenges call for a powerful response to COVID-19 that addresses social and economic development, climate change, and biodiversity together, offering an opportunity to bring transformational change to the structure and functioning of the global economy. This biodefense can include a “One Health” approach in all relevant sectors; a greener approach to agriculture that minimizes greenhouse gas emissions and leads to healthier diets; sustainable forms of energy; more effective international environmental agreements; post-COVID development that is equitable and sustainable; and nature-compatible international trade. Restoring and enhancing protected areas as part of devoting 50% of the planet’s land to environmentally sound management that conserves biodiversity would also support adaptation to climate change and limit human contact with zoonotic pathogens. The essential links between human health and well-being, biodiversity, and climate change could inspire a new generation of innovators to provide green solutions to enable humans to live in a healthy balance with nature leading to a long-term resilient future.
Gender is a critical factor in how people respond to, and recover from major disruptions such as natural disasters or disease outbreaks. Climate-related disasters are known to pose-gender specific problems that disproportionately affect more women than men. Similarly, the COVID-19 pandemic’s impacts along gender lines are enormous, with women being the worst-affected. Existing studies have drawn connections between COVID-19 and climate change, with most arguing that responses to the pandemic provide an opportunity to tackle climate change through emission reduction strategies as part of recovery efforts. We introduce a new dimension to this connection by demonstrating that though different phenomena, COVID-19 and climate change are not so dissimilar in terms of their gendered socioeconomic impacts. Through a systematic review of the available literature, we establish a nexus between these impacts, and examine how the gender responses to COVID-19 can be leveraged to address gender-related climate impacts. We find that social protection, labor market, economic, and violence against women measures adopted in response to the pandemic provide a good opportunity to address the gender impacts of climate change as well. However, current COVID-19 gender responses do not incorporate the interconnections between the gender impacts of the pandemic and climate change. Adopting a nexus approach could help to leverage COVID-19 responses to address the gendered socioeconomic impacts of both crises.
Outbreaks of the novel coronavirus disease (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2: SARS-CoV-2) (coronavirus disease 2019; COVID-19) remind us once again of the mechanisms of zoonotic outbreaks. Climate change and the expansion of agricultural lands and infrastructures due to population growth will ultimately reduce or eliminate wildlife and avian habitats and increase opportunities for wildlife and birds to come into contact with livestock and humans. Consequently, infectious pathogens are transmitted from wildlife and birds to livestock and humans, promoting zoonotic diseases. In addition, the spread of diseases has been associated with air pollution and social inequities, such as racial discrimination, gender inequality, and racial, economic, and educational disparities. The COVID-19 pandemic is a fresh reminder of the significance of excessive greenhouse gas excretion and air pollution, highlighting social inequities and distortions. This provides us with an opportunity to reflect on the appropriateness of our trajectory. Therefore, this review glances through the COVID-19 pandemic and discusses our future.
Numerous studies have linked outdoor levels of PM2.5, PM10, NO2, O-3, SO2, and other air pollutants to significantly higher rates of Covid 19 morbidity and mortality, although the rate in which specific concentrations of pollutants increase Covid 19 morbidity and mortality varies widely by specific country and study. As little as a 1-mu g/m(3) increase in outdoor PM2.5 is estimated to increase rates of Covid 19 by as much as 0.22 to 8%. Two California studies have strongly linked heavy wildfire burning periods with significantly higher outdoor levels of PM2.5 and CO as well as significantly higher rates of Covid 19 cases and deaths. Active smoking has also been strongly linked significantly increased risk of Covid 19 severity and death. Other exposures possibly related to greater risk of Covid 19 morbidity and mortality include incense, pesticides, heavy metals, dust/sand, toxic waste sites, and volcanic emissions. The exact mechanisms in which air pollutants increase Covid 19 infections are not fully understood, but are probably related to pollutant-related oxidation and inflammation of the lungs and other tissues and to the pollutant-driven alternation of the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 in respiratory and other cells.
The coincidence of floods and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a genuine multihazard problem. Since the beginning of 2020, many regions around the World have been experiencing this double hazard of serious flooding and the pandemic. There have been 70 countries with flood events occurring after detection of the country’s first COVID-19 case and hundreds of thousands of people have been evacuated. The main objective of this article is to assess challenges that arise from complex intersections between the threat multipliers and to provide guidance on how to address them effectively. We consider the limitations of our knowledge including “unknown unknowns.” During emergency evacuation, practicing social distancing can be very difficult. However, people are going to take action to respond to rising waters, even if it means breaking quarantine. This is an emergency manager’s nightmare scenario: two potentially serious emergencies happening at once. During this unprecedented year (2020), we are experiencing one of the most challenging flood seasons we have seen in a while. Practical examples of issues and guides for managing floods and COVID-19 are presented. We feel that a new approach is needed in dealing with multiple hazards. Our main messages are: a resilience approach is needed whether in response to floods or a pandemic; preparation is vital, in addition to defense; the responsible actors must be prepared with actions plans and command structure, while the general population must be involved in the discussions so that they are aware of the risk and the reasons for the actions they must take. This article is categorized under:Engineering Water > Methods.
Converging data would indicate the existence of possible relationships between climate change, environmental pollution and epidemics/pandemics, such as the current one due to SARS-CoV-2 virus. Each of these phenomena has been supposed to provoke detrimental effects on mental health. Therefore, the purpose of this paper was to review the available scientific literature on these variables in order to suggest and comment on their eventual synergistic effects on mental health. The available literature report that climate change, air pollution and COVID-19 pandemic might influence mental health, with disturbances ranging from mild negative emotional responses to full-blown psychiatric conditions, specifically, anxiety and depression, stress/trauma-related disorders, and substance abuse. The most vulnerable groups include elderly, children, women, people with pre-existing health problems especially mental illnesses, subjects taking some types of medication including psychotropic drugs, individuals with low socio-economic status, and immigrants. It is evident that COVID-19 pandemic uncovers all the fragility and weakness of our ecosystem, and inability to protect ourselves from pollutants. Again, it underlines our faults and neglect towards disasters deriving from climate change or pollution, or the consequences of human activities irrespective of natural habitats and constantly increasing the probability of spillover of viruses from animals to humans. In conclusion, the psychological/psychiatric consequences of COVID-19 pandemic, that currently seem unavoidable, represent a sharp cue of our misconception and indifference towards the links between our behaviour and their influence on the “health” of our planet and of ourselves. It is time to move towards a deeper understanding of these relationships, not only for our survival, but for the maintenance of that balance among man, animals and environment at the basis of life in earth, otherwise there will be no future.
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This paper reviews the empirical literature on exposures to disaster or terrorism and their impacts on the health and well-being of children with disabilities and their families since the last published update in 2017. We also review the literature on studies examining the mental health and functioning of children with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. RECENT FINDINGS: Few studies have examined the effects of disaster or terrorism on children with disabilities. Research shows that children with disabilities and their families have higher levels of disaster exposure, lower levels of disaster preparedness, and less recovery support due to longstanding discriminatory practices. Similarly, many reports of the COVID-19 pandemic have documented its negative and disproportionate impacts on children with disabilities and their families. In the setting of climate change, environmental disasters are expected to increase in frequency and severity. Future studies identifying mitigating factors to disasters, including COVID-19; increasing preparedness on an individual, community, and global level; and evaluating post-disaster trauma-informed treatment practices are imperative to support the health and well-being of children with disabilities and their families.
The new severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic was first recognized at the end of 2019 and has caused one of the most serious global public health crises in the last years. In this paper, we review current literature on the effect of weather (temperature, humidity, precipitation, wind, etc.) and climate (temperature as an essential climate variable, solar radiation in the ultraviolet, sunshine duration) variables on SARS-CoV-2 and discuss their impact to the COVID-19 pandemic; the review also refers to respective effect of urban parameters and air pollution. Most studies suggest that a negative correlation exists between ambient temperature and humidity on the one hand and the number of COVID-19 cases on the other, while there have been studies which support the absence of any correlation or even a positive one. The urban environment and specifically the air ventilation rate, as well as air pollution, can probably affect, also, the transmission dynamics and the case fatality rate of COVID-19. Due to the inherent limitations in previously published studies, it remains unclear if the magnitude of the effect of temperature or humidity on COVID-19 is confounded by the public health measures implemented widely during the first pandemic wave. The effect of weather and climate variables, as suggested previously for other viruses, cannot be excluded, however, under the conditions of the first pandemic wave, it might be difficult to be uncovered. The increase in the number of cases observed during summertime in the Northern hemisphere, and especially in countries with high average ambient temperatures, demonstrates that weather and climate variables, in the absence of public health interventions, cannot mitigate the resurgence of COVID-19 outbreaks.
Corona virus is highly uncertain and complex in space and time. Atmospheric parameters such as type of pollutants and local weather play an important role in COVID-19 cases and mortality. Many studies were carried out to understand the impact of weather on spread and severity of COVID-19 and vice-versa. A review study is conducted to understand the impact of weather and atmospheric pollution on morbidity and mortality. Studies show that aerosols containing corona virus generated by sneezes and coughs are major route for spread of virus. Viability and virulence of SARS-CoV-2 stuck on the surface of particulate matter is not yet confirmed. Studies found that an increase in particulate matter concentration causes more COVID-19 cases and mortality. Gaseous pollutant and COVID-19 cases are positively correlated. Local meteorology plays crucial role in the spread of corona virus and thus mortality. Decline in number of cases with rising temperature observed. Few studies also find that lowest and highest temperatures were related to lesser number of cases. Similarly humidity shows negative or no relationship with COVID-19 cases. Rainfall was not related whilst wind-speed plays positive role in spread of COVID-19. Solar radiation threats survival of virus, areas with lower solar radiation showed high exposure rate. Air quality tremendously improved during lockdown. A significant reduction in PM10, PM2.5, BC, NOx, SO(2), CO and VOCs concentration were observed. Lockdown had a healing effect on ozone; significant increase in its concentration was observed. Aerosols Optical Depths were found to decrease up to 50%.
SARS-CoV-2 virus infections in humans were first reported in December 2019, the boreal winter. The resulting COVID-19 pandemic was declared by the WHO in March 2020. By July 2020, COVID-19 was present in 213 countries and territories, with over 12 million confirmed cases and over half a million attributed deaths. Knowledge of other viral respiratory diseases suggests that the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 could be modulated by seasonally varying environmental factors such as temperature and humidity. Many studies on the environmental sensitivity of COVID-19 are appearing online, and some have been published in peer-reviewed journals. Initially, these studies raised the hypothesis that climatic conditions would subdue the viral transmission rate in places entering the boreal summer, and that southern hemisphere countries would experience enhanced disease spread. For the latter, the COVID-19 peak would coincide with the peak of the influenza season, increasing misdiagnosis and placing an additional burden on health systems. In this review, we assess the evidence that environmental drivers are a significant factor in the trajectory of the COVID-19 pandemic, globally and regionally. We critically assessed 42 peer-reviewed and 80 preprint publications that met qualifying criteria. Since the disease has been prevalent for only half a year in the northern, and one-quarter of a year in the southern hemisphere, datasets capturing a full seasonal cycle in one locality are not yet available. Analyses based on space-for-time substitutions, i.e., using data from climatically distinct locations as a surrogate for seasonal progression, have been inconclusive. The reported studies present a strong northern bias. Socio-economic conditions peculiar to the ‘Global South’ have been omitted as confounding variables, thereby weakening evidence of environmental signals. We explore why research to date has failed to show convincing evidence for environmental modulation of COVID-19, and discuss directions for future research. We conclude that the evidence thus far suggests a weak modulation effect, currently overwhelmed by the scale and rate of the spread of COVID-19. Seasonally modulated transmission, if it exists, will be more evident in 2021 and subsequent years.
Respiratory viruses, including coronaviruses, are known to have a high incidence of infection during winter, especially in temperate regions. Dry and cold conditions during winter are the major drivers for increased respiratory tract infections as they increase virus stability and transmission and weaken the host immune system. The novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) emerged in China in December 2020 and swiftly spread across the globe causing substantial health and economic burdens. Several countries are battling with the second wave of the virus after a devastating first wave of spread, while some are still in the midst of their first wave. It remains unclear whether SARS-CoV-2 will eventually become seasonal or will continue to circulate year-round. In an attempt to address this question, we review the current knowledge regarding the seasonality of respiratory viruses including coronaviruses and the viral and host factors that govern their seasonal pattern. Moreover, we discuss the properties of SARS-CoV-2 and the potential impact of meteorological factors on its spread.
The world is currently shadowed by the pandemic of COVID-19. Confirmed cases and the death toll has reached more than 12 million and more than 550,000 respectively as of 10 July 2020. In the unsettling pandemic of COVID-19, the whole Earth has been on an unprecedented lockdown. Social distancing among people, interrupted international and domestic air traffic and suspended industrial productions and economic activities have various far-reaching and undetermined implications on air quality and the climate system. Improvement in air quality has been reported in many cities during lockdown, while the death rate of COVID-19 has been found to be higher in more polluted cities. The relationship between the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and air quality is under investigation. In addition, the battle against COVID-19 could bring short-lived and long-lasting and positive and negative impacts to the warming climate. The impacts on the climate system and the role of the climate in modulating the COVID-19 pandemic are the foci of scientific inquiry. The intertwined relationship among environment, climate change and public health is exemplified in the pandemic of COVID-19. Further investigation of the relationship is imperative in the Anthropocene, in particular, in enhancing disaster preparedness. This short article intends to give an up-to-date glimpse of the pandemic from air quality and climate perspectives and calls for a follow-up discussion.
The co-occurrence of the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season and the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic creates complex dilemmas for protecting populations from these intersecting threats. Climate change is likely contributing to stronger, wetter, slower-moving, and more dangerous hurricanes. Climate-driven hazards underscore the imperative for timely warning, evacuation, and sheltering of storm-threatened populations – proven life-saving protective measures that gather evacuees together inside durable, enclosed spaces when a hurricane approaches. Meanwhile, the rapid acquisition of scientific knowledge regarding how COVID-19 spreads has guided mass anti-contagion strategies, including lockdowns, sheltering at home, physical distancing, donning personal protective equipment, conscientious handwashing, and hygiene practices. These life-saving strategies, credited with preventing millions of COVID-19 cases, separate and move people apart. Enforcement coupled with fear of contracting COVID-19 have motivated high levels of adherence to these stringent regulations. How will populations react when warned to shelter from an oncoming Atlantic hurricane while COVID-19 is actively circulating in the community? Emergency managers, health care providers, and public health preparedness professionals must create viable solutions to confront these potential scenarios: elevated rates of hurricane-related injury and mortality among persons who refuse to evacuate due to fear of COVID-19, and the resurgence of COVID-19 cases among hurricane evacuees who shelter together.
This article compares two concurrent global crises: the decades-long climate change crisis and the months-long COVID-19 pandemic. These have many similarities. We draw attention to seven parallels and implications. Three of these feature change: business as usual is not acceptable; timeliness in relation to tipping points is critical; and communities can adapt to change with support. Two other points highlight the importance of data: decisions about policy, planning and management need to be based on evidence; and preparation needs to be based on expert advice, warnings, and long-term strategies. Two additional comments involve institutions and relationships: integrated multi-level governance is most effective to deal with global crises; and a sense of a shared burden on humanity globally is essential. We learn that adaptation can take place without having all the facts but accepting the trends, timing is critical, and political will is vital.
The humanity is currently facing the COVID-19 pandemic challenge, the largest global health emergency after the Second World War. During summer months, many countries in the northern hemisphere will also have to counteract an imminent seasonal phenomenon, the management of extreme heat events. The novelty this year concerns that the world population will have to deal with a new situation that foresees the application of specific measures, including adjunctive personal protective equipment (i.e. facemasks and gloves), in order to reduce the potential transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. These measures should help to decrease the risk of the infection transmission but will also represent an aggravating factor to counteract the heat effects on the population health both at occupational and environmental level. The use of a specific heat health warning system with personalized information based on individual, behavioural and environmental characteristics represents a necessary strategy to help a fast adaptation of the population at a time where the priority is to live avoiding SARS-CoV-2 infection.
The geopolitics of pandemics and climate change intersect. Both are complex and urgent problems that demand collective action in the light of their global and trans-boundary scope. In this article we use a geopolitical framework to examine some of the tensions and contradictions in global governance and cooperation that are revealed by the pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We argue that the pandemic provides an early warning of the dangers inherent in weakened international cooperation. The world’s states, with their distinct national territories, are reacting individually rather than collectively to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many countries have introduced extraordinary measures that have closed, rather than opened up, international partnership and cooperation. Border closures, restrictions on social mixing, domestic purchase of public health supplies and subsidies for local industry and commerce may offer solutions at the national level but they do not address the global strategic issues. For the poorest countries of the world, pandemics join a list of other challenges that are exacerbated by pressures of scarce resources, population density and climate disruption. COVID-19’s disproportionate impact on those living with environmental stresses, such as poor air quality, should guide more holistic approaches to the geopolitical intersection of public health and climate change. By discussing unhealthy geopolitics, we highlight the urgent need for a coordinated global response to addressing challenges that cannot be approached unilaterally.
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) disease represents the causative agent with a potentially fatal risk which is having great global human health concern. Earlier studies suggested that air pollutants and meteorological factors were considered as the risk factors for acute respiratory infection, which carries harmful pathogens and affects the immunity. The study intended to explore the correlation between air pollutants, meteorological factors, and the daily reported infected cases caused by novel coronavirus in India. The daily positive infected cases, concentrations of air pollutants, and meteorological factors in 288 districts were collected from January 30, 2020, to April 23, 2020, in India. Spearman’s correlation and generalized additive model (GAM) were applied to investigate the correlations of four air pollutants (PM(2.5), PM(10), NO(2), and SO(2)) and eight meteorological factors (Temp, DTR, RH, AH, AP, RF, WS, and WD) with COVID-19-infected cases. The study indicated that a 10 ?g/m(3) increase during (Lag0-14) in PM(2.5), PM(10), and NO(2) resulted in 2.21% (95%CI: 1.13 to 3.29), 2.67% (95% CI: 0.33 to 5.01), and 4.56 (95% CI: 2.22 to 6.90) increase in daily counts of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID 19)-infected cases respectively. However, only 1 unit increase in meteorological factor levels in case of daily mean temperature and DTR during (Lag0-14) associated with 3.78% (95%CI: 1.81 to 5.75) and 1.82% (95% CI: -1.74 to 5.38) rise of COVID-19-infected cases respectively. In addition, SO(2) and relative humidity were negatively associated with COVID-19-infected cases at Lag0-14 with decrease of 7.23% (95% CI: -10.99 to -3.47) and 1.11% (95% CI: -3.45 to 1.23) for SO(2) and for relative humidity respectively. The study recommended that there are significant correlations between air pollutants and meteorological factors with COVID-19-infected cases, which substantially explain the effect of national lockdown and suggested positive implications for control and prevention of the spread of SARS-CoV-2 disease.
AIM: As the COVID-19 pandemic has been spreading rapidly all over the world, there are plenty of ongoing works to shed on light to unknown factors related to disease. One of the factors questioned is also to be the factors affecting the disease course. In this study, our aim is to determine the factors that affect the course of the disease in the hospitalised patients because of COVID-19 infection and to reveal whether the seasonal change has an effect on the disease course. METHODS: Our study was conducted on 1950 PCR test positive patients who were hospitalised for COVID-19 disease between March 16 and July 15. RESULTS: As the seasonal temperature increases, decrease in WBC, PLT and albumin levels and increase in LDH and AST levels were observed. Risk of need for ICU has been found statistically significant (P < .05) with the increase in the age, LDH levels and CRP levels and with the decrease in the Ca and Albumin levels. CONCLUSIONS: It is predicted with these results that, seasonal change might have affects on the clinical course of the disease, although it has no affect on the spread of the disease. And it might beneficial to check biochemical parameters such as LDH, CRP, Ca and Albumin to predict the course of the disease.
Scholars argue that personal experience with climate change related impacts can increase public engagement, with mixed empirical evidence. Previous studies have almost exclusively focussed on individuals’ experience with extreme weather events, even as scientific research on health impacts of climate change is burgeoning. This article extends previous research in the domain of public perceptions about climate-related public health impacts. Results from a nationally representative sample survey in New Zealand indicates that subjective attribution of infectious disease outbreaks to climate change and to human impact on the environment is positively associated with mitigation behavioural intentions and climate-focussed COVID-19 economic recovery policies. In contrast, knowledge about COVID-19 and self-reported economic impact due to COVID-19 is not associated with policy support. Moreover, significant interaction between political affiliation and subjective attribution to climate change on policy support indicate that learning about the links between health and climate change will particularly help increase mitigation engagement among right-leaning individuals. Subjective attribution may be the key to help translate personal experience to personal engagement.
The health, economic, and social impact of COVID-19 has been significant across the world. Our objective was to evaluate the association between air pollution (through NO(2) and PM(2.5) levels) and COVID-19 mortality in Spanish provinces from February 3, 2020, to July 14, 2020, adjusting for climatic parameters. An observational and ecological study was conducted with information extracted from Datadista repository (Datadista, 2020). Air pollutants (NO(2) and PM(2.5) levels) were analyzed as potential determinants of COVID-19 mortality. Multilevel Poisson regression models were used to analyze the risk of mortality after severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Models were adjusted by four climatic variables (hours of solar radiation, precipitation, daily temperature and wind speed) and population size. The mean levels of PM(2.5) and NO(2) across all provinces and time in Spain were 8.7 ?g/m(3) (SD 9.7) and 8.7 ?g/m(3) (SD 6.2), respectively. High levels of PM(2.5) (IRR?=?1.016, 95% CI: 1.007-1.026), NO(2) (IRR?=?1.066, 95% CI: 1.058-1.075) and precipitation (IRR(NO2)?=?0.989, 95% CI: 0.981-0.997) were positively associated with COVID-19 mortality, whereas temperature (IRR(PM2.5)?=?0.988, 95% CI: 0.976-1.000; and IRR(NO2)?=?0.771, 95% CI: 0.761-0.782, respectively) and wind speed (IRR(NO2)?=?1.095, 95% CI: 1.061-1.131) were negatively associated with COVID-19 mortality. Air pollution can be a key factor to understand the mortality rate for COVID-19 in Spain. Furthermore, climatic variables could be influencing COVID-19 progression. Thus, air pollution and climatology ought to be taken into consideration in order to control the pandemic. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11869-021-01062-2.
Global warming and air pollution affect the transmission pathway and the survival of viruses, altering the human immune system as well. The first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically highlights the key roles of climate and air chemistry in viral epidemics. The elongated form of the Italian peninsula and the two major islands (the largest in Europe) is a perfect case study to assess some of these key roles, as the fate of the virus is mirroring the industrialization in the continental part of our country. Fine particulate matter (PM(2.5)), geography, and climate explain what is happening in Italy and support cleaner air actions to address efficiently other outbreaks. Besides the environmental factors, future works should also address the genetic difference among individuals to explain the spatial variability of the human response to viral infections.
The 2020 summer Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo were postponed to July-September 2021 due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. While COVID-19 has emerged as a monumental health threat for mass gathering events, heat illness must be acknowledged as a potentially large health threat for maintaining health services. We examined the number of COVID-19 admissions and the Tokyo rule for emergency medical care, in Tokyo, from March to September 2020, and investigated the weekly number of emergency transportations due to heat illness and weekly averages of the daily maximum Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) in Tokyo in the summer (2016-2020). The peak of emergency transportations due to heat illness overlapped the resurgence of COVID-19 in 2020, and an increase of heat illness patients and WBGT has been observed. Respect for robust science is critical for the decision-making process of mass gathering events during the pandemic, and science-based countermeasures and implementations for COVID-19 will be warranted. Without urgent reconsiderations and sufficient countermeasures, the double burden of COVID-19 and heat-related illnesses in Tokyo will overwhelm the healthcare provision system, and maintaining essential health services will be challenging during the 2021 summer Olympic and Paralympic Games.
People with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cardiovascular disease, or hypertension have a high risk of developing severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and of COVID-19 mortality. However, the association between long-term exposure to air pollutants, which increases cardiopulmonary damage, and vulnerability to COVID-19 has not yet been fully established. We collected data of confirmed COVID-19 cases during the first wave of the epidemic in mainland China. We fitted a generalized linear model using city-level COVID-19 cases and severe cases as the outcome, and long-term average air pollutant levels as the exposure. Our analysis was adjusted using several variables, including a mobile phone dataset, covering human movement from Wuhan before the travel ban and movements within each city during the period of the emergency response. Other variables included smoking prevalence, climate data, socioeconomic data, education level, and number of hospital beds for 324 cities in China. After adjusting for human mobility and socioeconomic factors, we found an increase of 37.8% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 23.8%-52.0%), 32.3% (95% CI: 22.5%-42.4%), and 14.2% (7.9%-20.5%) in the number of COVID-19 cases for every 10-?g/m(3) increase in long-term exposure to NO(2), PM(2.5), and PM(10), respectively. However, when stratifying the data according to population size, the association became non-significant. The present results are derived from a large, newly compiled and geocoded repository of population and epidemiological data relevant to COVID-19. The findings suggested that air pollution may be related to population vulnerability to COVID-19 infection, although the extent to which this relationship is confounded by city population density needs further exploration.
OBJECTIVE: The wildfire allied environmental pollution is highly toxic and can cause significant wide-ranging damage to the regional environment, weather conditions, and it can facilitate the transmission of microorganisms and diseases. The present study aims to investigate the effect of wildfire allied pollutants, particulate matter (PM-2.5 ?m), and carbon monoxide (CO) on the dynamics of daily cases and deaths due to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in San Francisco, USA. MATERIALS AND METHODS: For this study, we selected San Francisco, one of the regions affected by the wildfires allied pollution in California, USA. The data on the COVID-19 pandemic in San Francisco, including daily new cases and new deaths were recorded from Worldometer Web. The daily environmental pollutants particulate matter (PM-2.5 ?m) and carbon monoxide (CO) were recorded from the metrological web “BAAQMD”. The daily cases, deaths, particulate matter (PM-2.5 ?m) and carbon monoxide were documented from the date of the occurrence of the first case of (SARS-CoV-2) in San Francisco, CA, USA, from March 20, 2020 to Sept 16, 2020. RESULTS: The results revealed a significant positive correlation between the environmental pollutants particulate matter (PM2.5 ?m) and the number of daily cases (r=0.203, p=0.007), cumulative cases (r=0.567, p<0.001) and cumulative deaths (r=0.562, p<0.001); whereas the PM2.5 ?m and daily deaths had no relationship (r=-0.015, p=0.842). In addition, CO was also positively correlated with cumulative cases (r=0.423, p<0.001) and cumulative deaths (r=0.315, p<0.001), however, CO had no correlation with the number of daily cases (r=0.134, p=0.075) and daily deaths (r=0.030, p=0.693). In San Francisco, one micrometer (?g/m3) increase in PM2.5 caused an increase in the daily cases, cumulative cases and cumulative deaths of SARS-COV-2 by 0.5%, 0.9% and 0.6%, respectively. Moreover, with a 1 part per million (ppm) increase in carbon monoxide level, the daily number of cases, cumulative cases and cumulative deaths increased by 5%, 9.3% and 5.3%, respectively. On the other hand, CO and daily deaths had no significant relationship. CONCLUSIONS: The wildfire allied pollutants, particulate matter PM-2.5?m and CO have a positive association with an increased number of SARS-COV-2 daily cases, cumulative cases and cumulative deaths in San Francisco. The metrological, disaster management and health officials must implement the necessary policies and assist in planning to minimize the wildfire incidences, environmental pollution and COVID-19 pandemic both at regional and international levels.
The global risks report of 2020 stated, climate-related issues dominate all of the top-five long-term critical global risks burning the planet and according to the report, “as existing health risks resurge and new ones emerge, humanity’s past successes in overcoming health challenges are no guarantee of future results.” Over the last few decades, the world has experienced several pandemic outbreaks of various pathogens and the frequency of the emergence of novel strains of infectious organisms has increased in recent decades. As per expert opinion, rapidly mutating viruses, emergence and re-emergence of epidemics with increasing frequencies, climate-sensitive vector-borne diseases are likely to be increasing over the years and the trends will continue and intensify. Susceptible disease hosts, anthropogenic activities and environmental changes contribute and trigger the ‘adaptive evolution’ of infectious agents to thrive and spread into different ecological niches and to adapt to new hosts. The overarching objective of this paper is to provide insight into the human actions which should be strictly regulated to help to sustain life on earth. To identify and categorize the triggering factors that contribute to disease ecology, especially repeated emergence of disease pandemics, a theory building approach, ‘Total Interpretive Structural Modeling’ (TISM) was used; also the tool, ‘Impact Matrix Cross-Reference Multiplication Applied to a Classification’ analysis (MICMAC) was applied to rank the risk factors based on their impacts on other factors and on the interdependence among them. This mathematical modeling tool clearly explains the strength, position and interconnectedness of each anthropogenic factor that contributes to the evolution of pathogens and to the frequent emergence of pandemics which needs to be addressed with immediate priority. As we are least prepared for another pandemic outbreak, significant policy attention must be focused on the causative factors to limit emerging outbreaks like COVID 19 in the future.
Since the first report in December 2019, the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has spread to most parts of the world, with over 21.5 million people infected and nearly 768,000 deaths to date. Evidence suggests that transmission of the virus is primarily through respiratory droplets and contact routes, and airborne carriers such as atmospheric particulates and aerosols have also been proposed as important vectors for the environmental transmission of COVID-19. Sewage and human excreta have long been recognized as potential routes for transmitting human pathogens. The causative agent of the COVID-19 pandemic, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has been detected in human feces and urine, where it could remain viable for days and show infectivity. Urban flooding, a common threat in summer caused by heavy rainfalls, is frequently reported in urban communities along with sewage overflows. With summer already underway and economy re-opening in many parts of the world, urban flooding and the often-accompanied sewage overflows could jeopardize previous mitigation efforts by posing renewed risks of virus spread in affected areas and communities. In this article, we present the up-to-date evidence and discussions on sewage-associated transmission of COVID-19, and highlighted the roles of sewage overflow and sewage-contaminated aerosols in two publicized events of community outbreaks. Further, we collected evidence in real-life environments to demonstrate the shortcuts of exposure to overflowed sewage and non-dispersed human excreta during a local urban flooding event. Given that communities serviced by combined sewer systems are particularly prone to such risks, local municipalities could prioritize wastewater infrastructure upgrades and consider combined sewer separations to minimize the risks of pathogen transmission via sewage overflows during epidemics.
Flooding displaces large populations each season, which potentially increases the exposure of the vulnerable societies. Having failed to curve down the number of people infected with COVID-19 in the first wave of the pandemic, many states in the United States (U.S.) are now at high risk of the concurrence of the two disasters. Assessing this compound risk before the country enters the flood season is of vital importance. Therefore, we provide a prompt tool to assess the compound risk of COVID-19 at the county level over the U.S. We find that (1) the number of flood insurance house claims can proxy the displaced population accurately with more spatiotemporal detail, and (2) the high-risk areas of both flooding and COVID-19 are concentrated along the southern and eastern coasts and some parts of the Mississippi River. Our findings may trigger the interest of further exploring the topics related to the concurrence of COVID-19 and flooding.
Thermal comfort standards are essential to ensure comfortable and enjoyable indoor conditions, and they also help in optimizing energy use. Thermal comfort studies, either climate chamber-based or field investigation, are conducted across the globe in order to ascertain the comfort limits as per the climatic and other adaptive features. However, very few studies are conducted when the occupants are subjected to a stressed condition, like the COVID-19 lockdown, which may not only have the health impacts but also have psychological impacts on the adaptation. In this paper, we present the results of the online study conducted regarding the status of thermal comfort during the COVID-19 lockdown in India. A total of 406 complete responses were collected from subjects located across 3 different climatic regions of India, that is, cold climate, composite climate, and hot and humid climate. Variations in clothing insulation, thermal sensation, and preference were noted across the different climatic regions. We also present the variation in opening of windows and running of fans with the variation in outdoor mean air temperature. The self-judged productivity, comfort, desire to go outdoors, and effectiveness of working from home were seen to vary with the increase in the days of lockdown.
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), universally recognized as COVID-19, is currently is a global issue. Our study uses multivariate regression for determining the relationship between the ambient environment and COVID-19 cases in Lima. We also forecast the pattern trajectory of COVID-19 cases with variables using an Auto-Regressive Integrated Moving Average Model (ARIMA). There is a significant association between ambient temperature and PM10 and COVID-19 cases, while no significant correlation has been seen for PM2.5. All variables in the multivariate regression model have R-2 = 0.788, which describes a significant exposure to COVID-19 cases in Lima. ARIMA (1,1,1), during observation time of PM2.5, PM10, and average temperature, is found to be suitable for forecasting COVID-19 cases in Lima. This result indicates that the expected high particle concentration and low ambient temperature in the coming season will further facilitate the transmission of the coronavirus if there is no other policy intervention. A suggested sustainable policy related to ambient environment and the lessons learned from different countries to prevent future outbreaks are also discussed in this study.
This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between weather factors (temperature, humidity, solar radiation, wind speed, and rainfall) and COVID-19 infection in the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Solar radiation showed a strong (-0.609, p < 0.01) negative correlation with the incidence of novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). Temperature (maximum and average) and wind speed showed negative correlation (p < 0.01). Therefore, in this studied tropical state, high solar radiation can be indicated as the main climatic factor that suppress the spread of COVID-19. High temperatures, and wind speed also are potential factors. Therefore, the findings of this study show the ability to improve the organizational system of strategies to combat the pandemic in the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and other tropical countries around the word.
Knowing how people perceive multiple risks is essential to the management and promotion of public health and safety. Here we present a dataset based on a survey (N?=?4,154) of public risk perception in Italy and Sweden during the COVID-19 pandemic. Both countries were heavily affected by the first wave of infections in Spring 2020, but their governmental responses were very different. As such, the dataset offers unique opportunities to investigate the role of governmental responses in shaping public risk perception. In addition to epidemics, the survey considered indirect effects of COVID-19 (domestic violence, economic crises), as well as global (climate change) and local (wildfires, floods, droughts, earthquakes, terror attacks) threats. The survey examines perceived likelihoods and impacts, individual and authorities’ preparedness and knowledge, and socio-demographic indicators. Hence, the resulting dataset has the potential to enable a plethora of analyses on social, cultural and institutional factors influencing the way in which people perceive risk.
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is the most severe global health and socioeconomic crisis of our time, and represents the greatest challenge faced by the world since the end of the Second World War. The academic literature indicates that climatic features, specifically temperature and absolute humidity, are very important factors affecting infectious pulmonary disease epidemics – such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS); however, the influence of climatic parameters on COVID-19 remains extremely controversial. The goal of this study is to individuate relationships between several climate parameters (temperature, relative humidity, accumulated precipitation, solar radiation, evaporation, and wind direction and intensity), local morphological parameters, and new daily positive swabs for COVID-19, which represents the only parameter that can be statistically used to quantify the pandemic. The daily deaths parameter was not considered, because it is not reliable, due to frequent administrative errors. Daily data on meteorological conditions and new cases of COVID-19 were collected for the Lombardy Region (Northern Italy) from 1 March, 2020 to 20 April, 2020. This region exhibited the largest rate of official deaths in the world, with a value of approximately 1700 per million on 30 June 2020. Moreover, the apparent lethality was approximately 17% in this area, mainly due to the considerable housing density and the extensive presence of industrial and craft areas. Both the Mann-Kendall test and multivariate statistical analysis showed that none of the considered climatic variables exhibited statistically significant relationships with the epidemiological evolution of COVID-19, at least during spring months in temperate subcontinental climate areas, with the exception of solar radiation, which was directly related and showed an otherwise low explained variability of approximately 20%. Furthermore, the average temperatures of two highly representative meteorological stations of Molise and Lucania (Southern Italy), the most weakly affected by the pandemic, were approximately 1.5 °C lower than those in Bergamo and Brescia (Lombardy), again confirming that a significant relationship between the increase in temperature and decrease in virulence from COVID-19 is not evident, at least in Italy.
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: As, the COVID-19 has been deemed a pandemic by World Health Organization (WHO), and since it spreads everywhere throughout the world, investigation in relation to this disease is very much essential. Investigation of pattern in the occurrence of COVID-19, to check the influence of different meteorological factors on the incidence of COVID-19 and prediction of incidence of COVID-19 are the objectives of this paper. METHODS: For trend analysis, Sen’s Slope and Man-Kendall test have been used, Generalized Additive Model (GAM) of regression has been used to check the influence of different meteorological factors on the incidence and to predict the frequency of COVID-19, and Verhulst (Logistic) Population Model has been used. RESULTS: Statistically significant linear trend found for the daily-confirmed cases of COVID-19. The regression analysis indicates that there is some influence of the interaction of average temperature (AT) and average relative humidity (ARH) on the incidence of COVID-19. However, this result is not consistent throughout the study area. The projections have been made up to 21st May, 2020. CONCLUSIONS: Trend and regression analysis give an idea of the incidence of COVID-19 in India while projection made by Verhulst (Logistic) Population Model for the confirmed cases of the study area are encouraging as the sample prediction is as same as the actual number of confirmed COVID-19 cases.
A probe of a patient, seeking help in an emergency ward of a French hospital in late December 2019 because of Influenza like symptoms, was retrospectively tested positive to COVID-19. Despite the early appearance of the virus in Europe, the prevalence and virulence appeared to be low for several weeks, before the spread and severity of symptoms increased exponentially, yet with marked spatial and temporal differences. Here, we compare the possible linkages between peaks of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and the sudden, explosive increase of hospitalizations and mortality rates in the Swiss Canton of Ticino, and the Greater Paris and London regions. We argue that these peaks of fine particulate matter are primarily occurring during thermal inversion of the boundary layer of the atmosphere. We also discuss the influence of Saharan dust intrusions on the COVID-19 outbreak observed in early 2020 on the Canary Islands. We deem it both reasonable and plausible that high PM2.5 concentrations-favored by air temperature inversions or Saharan dust intrusions-are not only modulating but even more so boosting severe outbreaks of COVID-19. Moreover, desert dust events-besides enhancing PM2.5 concentrations-can be a vector for fungal diseases, thereby exacerbating COVID-19 morbidity and mortality. We conclude that the overburdening of the health services and hospitals as well as the high over-mortality observed in various regions of Europe in spring 2020 may be linked to peaks of PM2.5 and likely particular weather situations that have favored the spread and enhanced the virulence of the virus. In the future, we recommended to monitor not only the prevalence of the virus, but also to consider the occurrence of weather situations that can lead to sudden, very explosive COVID-19 outbreaks.
SARS CoV-2 (COVID-19) Coronavirus cases are confirmed throughout the world and millions of people are being put into quarantine. A better understanding of the effective parameters in infection spreading can bring about a logical measurement toward COVID-19. The effect of climatic factors on spreading of COVID-19 can play an important role in the new Coronavirus outbreak. In this study, the main parameters, including the number of infected people with COVID-19, population density, intra-provincial movement, and infection days to end of the study period, average temperature, average precipitation, humidity, wind speed, and average solar radiation investigated to understand how can these parameters effects on COVID-19 spreading in Iran? The Partial correlation coefficient (PCC) and Sobol’-Jansen methods are used for analyzing the effect and correlation of variables with the COVID-19 spreading rate. The result of sensitivity analysis shows that the population density, intra-provincial movement have a direct relationship with the infection outbreak. Conversely, areas with low values of wind speed, humidity, and solar radiation exposure to a high rate of infection that support the virus’s survival. The provinces such as Tehran, Mazandaran, Alborz, Gilan, and Qom are more susceptible to infection because of high population density, intra-provincial movements and high humidity rate in comparison with Southern provinces.
The transmission of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and the severity of the related disease (COVID-19) are influenced by a large number of factors. This study aimed to investigate the correlation of COVID-19 case and death rates with possible causal climatological and sociodemographic factors for the March to May 2020 (first wave) period in a worldwide scale by statistically processing data for over one hundred countries. The weather parameters considered herein were air temperature, relative humidity, cumulative precipitation, and cloud cover, while sociodemographic factors included population density, median age, and government measures in response to the pandemic. The results of this study indicate that there is a statistically significant correlation between average atmospheric temperature and the COVID-19 case and death rates, with chi-square test p-values in the 0.001-0.02 range. Regarding sociodemographic factors, there is an even stronger dependence of the case and death rates on the population median age (p = 0.0006-0.0012). Multivariate linear regression analysis using Lasso and the forward stepwise approach revealed that the median age ranks first in importance among the examined variables, followed by the temperature and the delays in taking first governmental measures or issuing stay-at-home orders.
OBJECTIVE: The weather-related conditions change the ecosystem and pose a threat to social, economic and environmental development. It creates unprecedented or unanticipated human health problems in various places or times of the year. Africa is the world’s second largest and most populous continent and has relatively changeable weather conditions. The present study aims to investigate the impact of weather conditions, heat and humidity on the incidence and mortality of COVID-19 pandemic in various regions of Africa. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study, 16 highly populated countries from North, South, East, West, and Central African regions were selected. The data on COVID-19 pandemic including daily new cases and new deaths were recorded from World Health Organization. The daily temperature and humidity figures were obtained from the weather web “Time and Date”. The daily cases, deaths, temperature and humidity were recorded from the date of appearance of first case of “Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)” in the African region, from Feb 14 to August 2, 2020. RESULTS: In African countries, the daily basis mean temperature from Feb 14, 2020 to August 2, 2020 was 26.16±0.12°C, and humidity was 57.41±0.38%. The overall results revealed a significant inverse correlation between humidity and the number of cases (r= -0.192, p<0.001) and deaths (r= -0.213, p<0.001). Similarly, a significant inverse correlation was found between temperature and the number of cases (r= -0.25, p<0.001) and deaths (r=-0.18, p<0.001). Furthermore, the regression results showed that with 1% increase in humidity the number of cases and deaths was significantly reduced by 3.6% and 3.7% respectively. Congruently, with 1°C increase in temperature, the number of cases and deaths was also significantly reduced by 15.1% and 10.5%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Increase in relative humidity and temperature was associated with a decrease in the number of daily cases and deaths due to COVID-19 pandemic in various African countries. The study findings on weather events and COVID-19 pandemic have an impact at African regional levels to project the incidence and mortality trends with regional weather events which will enhance public health readiness and assist in planning to fight against this pandemic.
The ongoing pandemic of 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is challenging global public health response system. We aim to identify the risk factors for the transmission of COVID-19 using data on mainland China. We estimated attack rate (AR) at county level. Logistic regression was used to explore the role of transportation in the nationwide spread. Generalized additive model and stratified linear mixed-effects model were developed to identify the effects of multiple meteorological factors on local transmission. The ARs in affected counties ranged from 0.6 to 9750.4 per million persons, with a median of 8.8. The counties being intersected by railways, freeways, national highways or having airports had significantly higher risk for COVID-19 with adjusted odds ratios (ORs) of 1.40 (p = 0.001), 2.07 (p < 0.001), 1.31 (p = 0.04), and 1.70 (p < 0.001), respectively. The higher AR of COVID-19 was significantly associated with lower average temperature, moderate cumulative precipitation and higher wind speed. Significant pairwise interactions were found among above three meteorological factors with higher risk of COVID-19 under low temperature and moderate precipitation. Warm areas can also be in higher risk of the disease with the increasing wind speed. In conclusion, transportation and meteorological factors may play important roles in the transmission of COVID-19 in mainland China, and could be integrated in consideration by public health alarm systems to better prevent the disease.
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic poses extreme threat to public health and economy, particularly to the nations with higher population density. The disease first reported in Wuhan, China; later, it spreads elsewhere, and currently, India emerged as COVID-19 hotspot. In India, we selected 20 densely populated cities having infection counts higher than 500 (by 15 May) as COVID-19 epicenters. Daily COVID-19 count has strong covariability with local temperature, which accounts approximately 65-85% of the explained variance; i.e., its spread depends strongly on local temperature rise prior to community transmission phase. The COVID-19 cases are clustered at temperature and humidity ranging within 27-32°C and 25-45%, respectively. We introduce a combined temperature and humidity profile, which favors rapid COVID-19 growth at the initial phase. The results are highly significant for predicting future COVID-19 outbreaks and modeling cities based on environmental conditions. On the other hand, CO(2) emission is alarmingly high in South Asia (India) and entails high risk of climate change and extreme hot summer. Zoonotic viruses are sensitive to warming induced climate change; COVID-19 epicenters are collocated on CO(2) emission hotspots. The COVID-19 count distribution peaks at 31.0°C, which is 1.0°C higher than current (2020) and historical (1961-1990) mean, value. Approximately, 72% of the COVID-19 cases are clustered at severe to record-breaking hot extremes of historical temperature distribution spectrum. Therefore, extreme climate change has important role in the spread of COVID-19 pandemic. Hence, a strenuous mitigation measure to abate greenhouse gas (GHG) emission is essential to avoid such pandemics in future.
The purpose of the present study is to explore the associations between novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) case counts and meteorological factors in 30 provincial capital cities of China. We compiled a daily dataset including confirmed case counts, ambient temperature (AT), diurnal temperature range (DTR), absolute humidity (AH) and migration scale index (MSI) for each city during the period of January 20th to March 2nd, 2020. First, we explored the associations between COVID-19 confirmed case counts, meteorological factors, and MSI using non-linear regression. Then, we conducted a two-stage analysis for 17 cities with more than 50 confirmed cases. In the first stage, generalized linear models with negative binomial distribution were fitted to estimate city-specific effects of meteorological factors on confirmed case counts. In the second stage, the meta-analysis was conducted to estimate the pooled effects. Our results showed that among 13 cities that have less than 50 confirmed cases, 9 cities locate in the Northern China with average AT below 0 °C, 12 cities had average AH below 4 g/m(3), and one city (Haikou) had the highest AH (14.05 g/m(3)). Those 17 cities with 50 and more cases accounted for 90.6% of all cases in our study. Each 1 °C increase in AT and DTR was related to the decline of daily confirmed case counts, and the corresponding pooled RRs were 0.80 (95% CI: 0.75, 0.85) and 0.90 (95% CI: 0.86, 0.95), respectively. For AH, the association with COVID-19 case counts were statistically significant in lag 07 and lag 014. In addition, we found the all these associations increased with accumulated time duration up to 14 days. In conclusions, meteorological factors play an independent role in the COVID-19 transmission after controlling population migration. Local weather condition with low temperature, mild diurnal temperature range and low humidity likely favor the transmission.
The need for healthcare workers (HCWs) to wear personal protective equipment (PPE) during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic heightens their risk of thermal stress. We assessed the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of HCWs from India and Singapore regarding PPE usage and heat stress when performing treatment and care activities. One hundred sixty-five HCWs from India (n = 110) and Singapore (n = 55) participated in a survey. Thirty-seven HCWs from Singapore provided thermal comfort ratings before and after ice slurry ingestion. Differences in responses between India and Singapore HCWs were compared. A p-value cut-off of 0.05 depicted statistical significance. Median wet-bulb globe temperature was higher in India (30.2 °C (interquartile range [IQR] 29.1-31.8 °C)) than in Singapore (22.0 °C (IQR 18.8-24.8 °C)) (p < 0.001). Respondents from both countries reported thirst (n = 144, 87%), excessive sweating (n = 145, 88%), exhaustion (n = 128, 78%), and desire to go to comfort zones (n = 136, 84%). In Singapore, reports of air-conditioning at worksites (n = 34, 62%), dedicated rest area availability (n = 55, 100%), and PPE removal during breaks (n = 54, 98.2%) were higher than in India (n = 27, 25%; n = 46, 42%; and n = 66, 60%, respectively) (p < 0.001). Median thermal comfort rating improved from 2 (IQR 1-2) to 0 (IQR 0-1) after ice slurry ingestion in Singapore (p < 0.001). HCWs are cognizant of the effects of heat stress but might not adopt best practices due to various constraints. Thermal stress management is better in Singapore than in India. Ice slurry ingestion is shown to be practical and effective in promoting thermal comfort. Adverse effects of heat stress on productivity and judgment of HCWs warrant further investigation.
The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season was extremely active and included, as of early November, six hurricanes that made landfall in the United States during the global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Such an event would necessitate a large-scale evacuation, with implications for the trajectory of the pandemic. Here we model how a hypothetical hurricane evacuation from four counties in southeast Florida would affect COVID-19 case levels. We find that hurricane evacuation increases the total number of COVID-19 cases in both origin and destination locations; however, if transmission rates in destination counties can be kept from rising during evacuation, excess evacuation-induced case numbers can be minimized by directing evacuees to counties experiencing lower COVID-19 transmission rates. Ultimately, the number of excess COVID-19 cases produced by the evacuation depends on the ability of destination counties to meet evacuee needs while minimizing virus exposure through public health directives. These results are relevant to disease transmission during evacuations stemming from additional climate-related hazards such as wildfires and floods.
We investigated the geographical character of the COVID-19 infection in China and correlated it with satellite- and ground-based measurements of air quality. Controlling for population density, we found more viral infections in those prefectures (U.S. county equivalent) afflicted by high Carbon Monoxide, Formaldehyde, PM 2.5, and Nitrogen Dioxide values. Higher mortality was also correlated with relatively poor air quality. When summarizing the results at a greater administrative level, we found that the 10 provinces (U.S. state equivalent) with the highest rate of mortality by COVID-19, were often the most polluted but not the most densely populated. Air pollution appears to be a risk factor for the incidence of this disease, despite the conventionally apprehended influence of human mobility on disease dynamics from the site of first appearance, Wuhan. The raw correlations reported here should be interpreted in a broader context, accounting for the growing evidence reported by several other studies. These findings warn communities and policymakers on the implications of long-term air pollution exposure as an ecological, multi-scale public health issue.
INTRODUCTION: Environmental factors such as wind, temperature, humidity, and sun exposure are known to affect influenza and viruses such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) transmissions. COVID-19 is a new pandemic with very little information available about its transmission and association with environmental factors. The goal of this paper is to explore the association of environmental factors on daily incidence rate, mortality rate, and recoveries of COVID-19. METHODS: The environmental data for humidity, temperature, wind, and sun exposure were recorded from metrological websites and COVID-19 data such as the daily incidence rate, death rate, and daily recovery were extracted from the government’s official website available to the general public. The analysis for each outcome was adjusted for factors such as lock down status, nationwide events, and the number of daily tests performed. Analysis was completed with negative binominal regression log link using generalised linear modelling. RESULTS: Daily temperature, sun exposure, wind, and humidity were not significantly associated with daily incidence rate. Temperature and nationwide social gatherings, although non-significant, showed trends towards a higher chance of incidence. An increase in the number of daily testing was significantly associated with higher COVID-19 incidences (effect size ranged from 2.17-9.96). No factors were significantly associated with daily death rates. Except for the province of Balochistan, a lower daily temperature was associated with a significantly higher daily recovery rate. DISCUSSION: Environmental factors such as temperature, humidity, wind, and daily sun exposure were not consistently associated with COVID-19 incidence, death rates, or recovery. More policing about precautionary measures and ensuring diagnostic testing and accuracy are needed.
