Air Pollution: Anathema To COVID 19 Sufferers?

Given that they already have compromised respiratory systems, does COVID 19 sufferers in cities with high levels of air pollution more likely to die that their counterparts in clean air locales?

By: Ringo Bones

Public health policymakers have been warning us for decades that polluted air is a serious threat to people with compromised respiratory systems – like ones suffering from asthma and related preexisting chronic lung conditions. Since the year 2000, about a million people die annually in Mainland China’s urban centers where the air quality falls far below the acceptable guidelines set by the World Health Organization. But since the advent of the COVID 19 pandemic, does polluted air spell the death knell to COVID 19 sufferers?

A recently published research from the Harvard University School of Public Health shows that COVID 19 sufferers living in cities with severe levels of air pollution are more likely to die than ones living in regions with much cleaner air. Even though pollution levels in cities have declined since lockdown measures were enforced. Polluted cities COVID 19 death rates are up to a third higher compared to cities with cleaner air and stricter enforced clean air policies.

Given that the Trump administration had rolled back the EPA’s Clean Air Act back in 2017, the increased levels of COVID 19 deaths in the United States could be attributable to increased pollution levels in major metropolitan areas. The Harvard study now highlights the importance of effectively enforced clean air laws when it comes to formulating public health policy.

COVID 19 Lockdown: Good For The Environment?

Given that the COVID 19 pandemic has disrupted life around the world, does the resulting carbon dioxide emission drops spell good news for the environment?

By: Ringo Bones

The resulting lockdown of the COVID 19 pandemic was seen to have resulted in the largest drop in emissions in recent years and also probably the most fitting way to celebrate the 50^th Anniversary of the very first Earth Day. But sadly the disruption only results in a tiny drop of the overall concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere because of how long the gas effectively lingers. The current carbon dioxide concentration in our atmosphere now stands at 418 parts per million and according to climate experts, this needs to stay at 350 parts per million to avoid a runaway global warming.

It was estimated that for the entire 2020, the carbon dioxide emissions could be down by 6-percent compared to previous years but according to experts, we need an annual reduction of 7.5-percent to reach the 350 parts per million targeted by 2050 in order for catastrophic climate change to be avoided. Still, according to energy and climate expert Constantine Samaras, the message is clear: Just because this devastating pandemic has only a small impact on today’s atmospheric carbon dioxide levels doesn’t mean the climate crisis is lost.