COVID19 outbreak in Lombardy, Italy: An analysis on the short-term relationship between air pollution, climatic factors and the susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection

Stufano, Angela; Lisco, Stefania; Bartolomeo, Nicola; Marsico, Antonella; Lucchese, Guglielmo; Jahantigh, Hamid Reza; Soleo, Leonardo; Moretti, Massimo; Trerotoli, Paolo; Palma, Giuseppe De; Lovreglio, Piero

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2021.111197

Cited by 32 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…This situation is well described in the Figure 18, which distinguishes the wind in the region. The average hourly wind speed registered is very low, most of the records are well below 2 m/s and never above 7 m/s, consistently with the findings of other studies such as [59][60][61]. This fact is also confirmed in Figure 19, which shows the average (left panel) and maximum (right panel) wind speed measured at each monitoring location of the ARPA Lombardia network.…”

Section: Evidence From Arpa Lombardia Datasupporting

confidence: 88%

Air Quality in Lombardy, Italy: An Overview of the Environmental Monitoring System of ARPA Lombardia

Maranzano

2022

Earth

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In this paper, we describe the structure and the features of the air quality and meteorological monitoring system adopted in the Lombardy region in Northern Italy. We are interested in describing which data the Regional Agency for Environmental Protection (ARPA Lombardia) must collect, how this process takes place and how they are disseminated to the public for institutional communication and research purposes. ARPA monitors the atmospheric conditions through a dense ground monitoring network composed mainly by permanent stations, but also by mobile samplers. We describe in a detailed fashion the structure of the network: how many stations the network consists of, their locations, which pollutants and weather events are monitored and with what frequency. Our main objective is to present to an international audience the case study of ARPA Lombardia and the main available public data, explicitly stating the sources of information and how to find them, and encouraging international researchers to deal with the subject. In spite of the significant and extensive efforts made to counteract the phenomenon of air pollution, the air quality recorded in the region is very poor, and the local authorities are struggling to comply with international regulations on the concentration of pollutants in the air, making Lombardy a relevant international case. In addition, we present in a synthetic and descriptive way, without any modeling ambition, some data observed in the last years in Lombardy regarding meteorology and the main pollutants (oxides and particulate matters). The empirical descriptive results have been obtained by analyzing sample data provided by ARPA Lombardia through the same sources described in the sections dedicated to the Agency. From the graphical analysis, it is noticeable that at aggregate (regional) level, the concentrations are affected by significant decreasing trends, but at a rather contained speed. This is particularly true for the concentrations of oxides (NO2 and NOX) in urban and industrial areas. However, particulate matters and ozone show a high persistence in the average concentrations, interrupted only by the alternation of climatic seasons. The data also show that the meteorology of the region does not seem favorable for the improvement of air quality, as the region is characterized by low precipitation, and wind almost everywhere is not very intense. This situation could be induced by the unfavorable geography of the area, which prevents adequate air recycling and facilitates the stagnation of pollutants. We suggest that any public policy intervention aimed at improving the air quality situation in the region should take into account this empirical evidence in the impact assessment phase.

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Section: Evidence From Arpa Lombardia Datasupporting

confidence: 88%

Air Quality in Lombardy, Italy: An Overview of the Environmental Monitoring System of ARPA Lombardia

Maranzano

2022

Earth

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“…In contrast, an inverse association was noticed between the concentrations of NO 2 and COVID-19 (incidence and mortality). In Lombardy, Stufano et al (2021) analyzed the short-term relationship between air pollution (and also climatic factors) and the susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection. It was concluded that although air pollutants and climate did not seem to be a cause of SARS-CoV-2 spread, short-term exposure to PM 10 , PM 2.5 and O 3 in some lags could be related to an increased incidence of COVID-19.…”

Section: Recent Studies By Continents and Countriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Positive association between outdoor air pollution and the incidence and severity of COVID-19. A review of the recent scientific evidences

Marquès

Domingo

2022

Environmental Research

116

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In June 2020, we published a review focused on assessing the influence of various air pollutants on the transmission of SARS-CoV-2, and the severity of COVID-19 in patients infected by the coronavirus. The results of most of those reviewed studies suggested that chronic exposure to certain air pollutants might lead to more severe and lethal forms of COVID-19, as well as delays/complications in the recovery of the patients. Since then, a notable number of studies on this topic have been published, including also various reviews. Given the importance of this issue, we have updated the information published since our previous review. Taking together the previous results and those of most investigations now reviewed, we have concluded that there is a significant association between chronic exposure to various outdoor air pollutants: PM 2.5 , PM 10 , O 3 , NO 2 , SO 2 and CO, and the incidence/risk of COVID-19 cases, as well as the severity/mortality of the disease. Unfortunately, studies on the potential influence of other important air pollutants such as VOCs, dioxins and furans, or metals, are not available in the scientific literature. In relation to the influence of outdoor air pollutants on the transmission of SARS-CoV-2, although the scientific evidence is much more limited, some studies point to PM 2.5 and PM 10 as potential airborne transmitters of the virus. Anyhow, it is clear that environmental air pollution plays an important negative role in COVID-19, increasing its incidence and mortality.

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“…A study conducted in the Lombardy region in Italy found that short term variations in PM 10 , PM 2.5 and O 3 concentrations, especially at short lags, were associated with increased COVID-19 incidence. 36 Finally, a study conducted in Ontario, Canada from January to June 2020 found a suggestive positive association between 1 week averaged O 3 exposure and COVID-19 incidence among institutional outbreak cases (eg, long-term care home, hospital, correctional facility). 37 Those studies have raised concerns of potential impacts of air pollution exposure on COVID-19 incidence.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Short-term exposure to ambient air pollution and individual emergency department visits for COVID-19: a case-crossover study in Canada

Lavigne

Ryti

Gasparrini

et al. 2022

Thorax

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BackgroundAmbient air pollution is thought to contribute to increased risk of COVID-19, but the evidence is controversial.ObjectiveTo evaluate the associations between short-term variations in outdoor concentrations of ambient air pollution and COVID-19 emergency department (ED) visits.MethodsWe conducted a case-crossover study of 78 255 COVID-19 ED visits in Alberta and Ontario, Canada between 1 March 2020 and 31 March 2021. Daily air pollution data (ie, fine particulate matter with diameter less than 2.5 µm (PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and ozone were assigned to individual case of COVID-19 in 10 km × 10 km grid resolution. Conditional logistic regression was used to estimate associations between air pollution and ED visits for COVID-19.ResultsCumulative ambient exposure over 0–3 days to PM2.5 (OR 1.010; 95% CI 1.004 to 1.015, per 6.2 µg/m3) and NO2 (OR 1.021; 95% CI 1.015 to 1.028, per 7.7 ppb) concentrations were associated with ED visits for COVID-19. We found that the association between PM2.5 and COVID-19 ED visits was stronger among those hospitalised following an ED visit, as a measure of disease severity, (OR 1.023; 95% CI 1.015 to 1.031) compared with those not hospitalised (OR 0.992; 95% CI 0.980 to 1.004) (p value for effect modification=0.04).ConclusionsWe found associations between short-term exposure to ambient air pollutants and COVID-19 ED visits. Exposure to air pollution may also lead to more severe COVID-19 disease.

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COVID19 outbreak in Lombardy, Italy: An analysis on the short-term relationship between air pollution, climatic factors and the susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection

Cited by 32 publications

References 34 publications

Air Quality in Lombardy, Italy: An Overview of the Environmental Monitoring System of ARPA Lombardia

Air Quality in Lombardy, Italy: An Overview of the Environmental Monitoring System of ARPA Lombardia

Positive association between outdoor air pollution and the incidence and severity of COVID-19. A review of the recent scientific evidences

Short-term exposure to ambient air pollution and individual emergency department visits for COVID-19: a case-crossover study in Canada

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