Aggravation of CoVID-19 infections due to air pollutant concentrations in Indian cities

Abstract

The CoVID-19 infections began rising worldwide during the initial weeks of March 2020, reacting to which the Government of India called for nationwide lockdown for ~ 3 weeks. The concentration of pollutants during the lockdown were compared with pollution levels recorded during the preceding year for the same time frame. A direct relationship was established between the high level of air pollutants (PM2.5, PM10, NO2 and SO2) and CoVID-19 infections being reported in the Indian cities. The correlation indicates that the air pollutants like PM2.5, PM10, NO2 and SO2 are aggravating the number of casualties due to the CoVID-19 infections. The transmission of the virus in the air is in the form of aerosols; and hence places which are highly polluted may see a proportionate rise in CoVID-19 cases The high-level exposure of PM2.5 over a long period is found to be significantly correlated with the mortality per unit confirmed CoVID-19 cases as compared to other air pollutant parameters like PM10, NO2 and SO2. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Korea Spatial Information Society.