Effect of ambient air pollution and meteorological factors on the potential transmission of COVID-19 in Turkey

Orak, Nur H.

Effect of ambient air pollution and meteorological factors on the potential transmission of COVID-19 in Turkey

2022

Orak, Nur H.

There is a need to improve the understanding of air quality parameters and meteorological conditions on the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in different regions of the world. In this preliminary study, we explore the relationship between short-term air quality (nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), sulfur dioxide (SO₂), ozone (O₃), and particulate matter (PM₂.₅, PM₁₀)) exposure, temperature, humidity, and wind speed on SARS-CoV-2 transmission in 41 cities of Turkey with reported weekly cases from February 8 to April 2, 2021. Both linear and non-linear relationships were explored. The nonlinear association between weekly confirmed cases and short-term exposure to predictor factors was investigated using a generalized additive model (GAM). The preliminary results indicate that there was a significant association between humidity and weekly confirmed COVID-19 cases. The cooler temperatures had a positive correlation with the occurrence of new confirmed cases. The low PM₂.₅ concentrations had a negative correlation with the number of new cases, while reducing SO₂ concentrations may help decrease the number of new cases. This is the first study investigating the relationship between measured air pollutants, meteorological factors, and the number of weekly confirmed COVID-19 cases across Turkey. There are several limitations of the presented study, however, the preliminary results show that there is a need to understand the impacts of regional air quality parameters and meteorological factors on the transmission of the virus.

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