This study investigates the causal effects of long-term particulate matter 2.5 exposure on COVID-19 deaths, fatality rates, and cases in India by using an instrumental variables approach based on thermal inversion episodes. The estimation results indicate that a 1 percent increase in long-term exposure to particulate matter 2.5 leads to an increase in COVID-19 deaths by 5.7 percentage points and an increase in the COVID-19 fatality rate by 0.027 percentage point, but this exposure is not necessarily correlated with COVID-19 cases. People with underlying health conditions such as respiratory illness caused by exposure to air pollution might have a higher risk of death following SARS-CoV-2 infection. This finding might also apply to other countries where high levels of air pollution are a critical issue for development and public health.
[2]
Links:
[1] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/reports-documents/causal-effects-long-term-pm25-exposure-covid-19-india
[2] http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/files/file/the casual effects of covid 19.pdf
[3] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/author/takahiro-yamada
[4] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/author/hiroyuki-yamada
[5] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/author/muthukumara-mani
[6] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/publisher/world-bank
[7] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/air-pollution
[8] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/coronavirus
[9] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/pm-25
[10] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/health-effects
[11] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/india