The Deadly Link Between COVID-19 and Air Pollution
Deadly air increases the risk of respiratory problems that can be fatal for coronavirus patients
What does Wuhan, NYC, and Milan have in common? Bad air pollution. But these same cities are also one of the worst-affected cities on Earth from COVID-19. Coincidence?
As the COVID-19 pandemic impacts millions across the world and brings economies to a grinding halt, there is a lot of talk about how emissions and air pollution have dropped radically in many countries. Commonly polluted cities suddenly have blue skies again. But beneath these eerie empty cities that were once crowded and bustling, hide an inconvenient truth:
Places with high air pollution will inevitably be places with a lot of COVID-19 infections.
The US government scientists estimate that COVID-19 may kill between 100,000 to 240,000 Americans. The majority of the pre-existing conditions that increase the risk of death for COVID-19 are the same diseases that are affected by long-term exposure to air pollution.
A tiny, single-unit increase in particle pollution levels is associated with a 15% increase in the death rate. Manhattan, the current epicentre of the pandemic in NY, has PM 2.5 averages range as high as 11 micrograms per cubic metre and has 1,904 deaths from COVID-19 reported as of 4th April. The research also concludes that slightly cleaner air in Manhattan could have saved hundreds of lives.
In a similar study, researchers at Harvard University School of Public Health has brought more attention to the impact air pollution have on patients who contract COVID-19. They found that a small increase in long-term exposure to PM 2.5 leads to a significant increase in the COVID-19 death rate.
Given the large differences in toxic air levels across states, people in polluted areas are far more likely to die from COVID-19 than those living in cleaner areas. Scientists have confirmed that dirty air was already known to increase the risk of acute respiratory distress syndrome, which is extremely deadly and a cause of COVID-19-related deaths, as well as other respiratory and heart problems.
Areas with poor air quality will ultimately reduce overall immunity of the people and make them more susceptible for any infection, such as COVID-19. “If you’re getting it, and you have been breathing polluted air, it’s really putting gasoline on the fire”, said Francesca Dominici, a Harvard biostatistics professor.
So, how does this relate to PiCO Home?
As mentioned previously, humidity plays a huge factor in our health and wellbeing. As drier air can reduce our immunity and makes us more susceptible to flu and virus, PiCO Home, which has high-quality sensors, can help keep us safe by informing us of optimal humidity levels.
And as explored in this article, long-term exposure to air pollution will give us long-term overall health problems, and with a stroke of bad luck, culminates with a COVID-19 infection, which will sure to impact us deadly.
PiCO Home is our flagship smart home device that measures the air quality around you to keep you safe. In addition to humidity, VOCs, carbon dioxide, and the temperature, it also measures PM 2.5 and PM 10, our air quality levels. The mobile app informs you when pollution levels are too bad, thus playing a crucial role in our fight against COVID-19 in keeping your environment optimum so that the virus cannot fester!
PiCO Home is available now on Amazon.
To inquire more about Brilliant & Company, please do not hesitate to drop us a line:
- CEO / Ryan Yun / ryan.yun@brilcom.com
- Global Marketing Manager / Steve Tan / steve.tan@brilcom.com
