The consequence of the lockdowns implemented to address the COVID-19 pandemic on human health damage due to air pollution and other environmental issues must be better understood. This paper analyses the effect of reducing energy demand on the evolution of environmental impacts during the occurrence of 2020-lockdown periods in Italy, with a specific focus on life expectancy. An energy metabolism analysis is conducted based on the life cycle assessment (LCA) of all monthly energy consumptions, by sector, category and province area in Italy between January 2015 to December 2020. Results show a general decrease (by ∼5% on average) of the LCA midpoint impact categories (global warming, stratospheric ozone depletion, fine particulate matter formation, etc.) over the entire year 2020 when compared to past years. These avoided impacts, mainly due to reductions in fossil energy consumptions, are meaningful during the first lockdown phase between March and May 2020 (by ∼21% on average). Regarding the LCA endpoint damage on human health, ∼66 Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) per 100,000 inhabitants are estimated to be saved. The analysis shows that the magnitude of the officially recorded casualties is substantially larger than the estimated gains in human lives due to the environmental impact reductions. Future research could therefore investigate the complex cause-effect relationships between the deaths occurred in 2020 imputed to COVID-19 disease and co-factors other than the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Antibiotics are omnipresent in the environment due to their widespread use, and they have wide-ranging negative impacts on organisms. Virus resistance differs substantially between domesticated Apis mellifera and wild Apis cerana, although both are commonly raised in China. Here, we investigated whether antibiotics can increase the sensitivity of honey bees to viral infection using the Israeli acute paralysis virus (IAPV) and tetracycline as representative virus and antibiotic. Although IAPV multiplied to lower levels in A. cerana than A. mellifera, resulting in decreased mortality (P < 0.01), there was no significant difference in immune responses to viral infection between the two species. Adult worker bees (A. cerana and A. mellifera) were treated with or without tetracycline to demonstrate the prominent role of gut microbiota against viral infection, and found Lactobacillus played a vital antiviral role in A. cerana. In A. cerana but not A. mellifera, tetracycline treatment reduced clearly bee survival and increased susceptibility to IAPV infection (P < 0.01). Our findings revealed that long-term antibiotic treatment in A. mellifera had altered the native gut microbiome and promoted the sensitivity to viral infection. We highlight the effects of antibiotics exposure on resistance to microbial and viral infection.

The UK implemented a lockdown in Spring (2020) to curtail the person-to-person transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Measures restricted movements to one outing per day for exercise and shopping, otherwise most people were restricted to their dwelling except for key workers (e.g. medical, supermarkets, and transport). In this study, we quantified changes to air quality across the United Kingdom from 30/03/2020 to 03/05/2020 (weeks 14–18), the period of most stringent travel restrictions. Daily pollutant measurements of NO₂, O₃ and PM₂.₅ from the national network of monitoring sites during this period were compared with measurements over the same period during 2017–19. Comparisons were also made with predicted concentrations for the 2020 period from business-as-usual (BAU) modelling, where the contributions of normal anthropogenic activities were estimated under the observed meteorological conditions. During the lockdown study period there was a 69% reduction in traffic overall (74% reduction in light and 35% in heavy vehicles). Measurements from 129 monitoring stations, identified mean reductions in NO₂ of 38.3% (−8.8 μg/m³) and PM₂.₅ of 16.5% (−2.2 μg/m³). Improvements in NO₂ and PM₂.₅ were largest at urban traffic sites and more modest at background locations where a large proportion of the population live. In contrast, O₃ concentrations on average increased by 7.6% (+4.8 μg/m³) with the largest increases at roadside sites due to reductions in local emissions of NO. A lack of VOC monitoring limited our capacity to interpret changes in O₃ at urban background locations. BAU models predicted comparable NO₂ reductions and O₃ gains, although PM₂.₅ episodes would have been more prominent without lockdown. Results demonstrate the relatively modest contribution of traffic to air quality, suggesting that sustained improvements in air quality require actions across various sectors, including working with international and European initiatives on long-range transport air pollutants, especially PM₂.₅ and O₃.

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has become a global public health threaten. A series of strict prevention and control measures were implemented in China, contributing to the improvement of air quality. In this study, we described the trend of air pollutant concentrations and the incidence of COVID-19 during the epidemic and applied generalized additive models (GAMs) to assess the association between short-term exposure to air pollution and daily confirmed cases of COVID-19 in 235 Chinese cities. Disease progression based on both onset and report dates as well as control measures as potential confounding were considered in the analyses. We found that stringent prevention and control measures intending to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, contributed to a significant decline in the concentrations of air pollutants except ozone (O₃). Significant positive associations of short-term exposure to air pollutants, including particulate matter with diameters ≤2.5 μm (PM₂.₅), particulate matter with diameters ≤10 μm (PM₁₀), and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) with daily new confirmed cases were observed during the epidemic. Per interquartile range (IQR) increase in PM₂.₅ (lag0-15), PM₁₀ (lag0-15), and NO₂ (lag0-20) were associated with a 7% [95% confidence interval (CI): (4–9)], 6% [95% CI: (3–8)], and 19% [95% CI: (13–24)] increase in the counts of daily onset cases, respectively. Our results suggest that there is a statistically significant association between ambient air pollution and the spread of COVID-19. Thus, the quarantine measures can not only cut off the transmission of virus, but also retard the spread by improving ambient air quality, which might provide implications for the prevention and control of COVID-19.

In December 2019, a novel disease, coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19), emerged in Wuhan, People’s Republic of China. COVID-19 is caused by a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) presumed to have jumped species from another mammal to humans. This virus has caused a rapidly spreading global pandemic. To date, over 300,000 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in England and over 40,000 patients have died. While progress has been achieved in managing this disease, the factors in addition to age that affect the severity and mortality of COVID-19 have not been clearly identified. Recent studies of COVID-19 in several countries identified links between air pollution and death rates. Here, we explored potential links between major fossil fuel-related air pollutants and SARS-CoV-2 mortality in England. We compared current SARS-CoV-2 cases and deaths from public databases to both regional and subregional air pollution data monitored at multiple sites across England. After controlling for population density, age and median income, we show positive relationships between air pollutant concentrations, particularly nitrogen oxides, and COVID-19 mortality and infectivity. Using detailed UK Biobank data, we further show that PM₂.₅ was a major contributor to COVID-19 cases in England, as an increase of 1 m³ in the long-term average of PM₂.₅ was associated with a 12% increase in COVID-19 cases. The relationship between air pollution and COVID-19 withstands variations in the temporal scale of assessments (single-year vs 5-year average) and remains significant after adjusting for socioeconomic, demographic and health-related variables. We conclude that a small increase in air pollution leads to a large increase in the COVID-19 infectivity and mortality rate in England. This study provides a framework to guide both health and emissions policies in countries affected by this pandemic.

During March 2020, most European countries implemented lockdowns to restrict the transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus which causes COVID-19 through their populations. These restrictions had positive impacts for air quality due to a dramatic reduction of economic activity and atmospheric emissions. In this work, a machine learning approach was designed and implemented to analyze local air quality improvements during the COVID-19 lockdown in Graz, Austria. The machine learning approach was used as a robust alternative to simple, historical measurement comparisons for various individual pollutants. Concentrations of NO₂ (nitrogen dioxide), PM₁₀ (particulate matter), O₃ (ozone) and Oₓ (total oxidant) were selected from five measurement sites in Graz and were set as target variables for random forest regression models to predict their expected values during the city’s lockdown period. The true vs. expected difference is presented here as an indicator of true pollution during the lockdown. The machine learning models showed a high level of generalization for predicting the concentrations. Therefore, the approach was suitable for analyzing reductions in pollution concentrations. The analysis indicated that the city’s average concentration reductions for the lockdown period were: -36.9 to −41.6%, and −6.6 to −14.2% for NO₂ and PM₁₀, respectively. However, an increase of 11.6–33.8% for O₃ was estimated. The reduction in pollutant concentration, especially NO₂ can be explained by significant drops in traffic-flows during the lockdown period (−51.6 to −43.9%). The results presented give a real-world example of what pollutant concentration reductions can be achieved by reducing traffic-flows and other economic activities.

Whether virulent human pathogenic coronaviruses (SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV-2) are effectively transmitted by aerosols remains contentious. Transmission modes of the novel coronavirus have become a hot topic of research with the importance of airborne transmission controversial due to the many factors that can influence virus transmission. Airborne transmission is an accepted potential route for the spread of some viral infections (measles, chickenpox); however, aerosol features and infectious inoculum vary from one respiratory virus to another. Infectious virus-laden aerosols can be produced by natural human respiratory activities, and their features are vital determinants for virus carriage and transmission. Physicochemical characteristics of infectious respiratory aerosols can influence the efficiency of virus transmission by droplets. This critical review identifies studies reporting instances of infected patients producing airborne human pathogenic coronaviruses, and evidence for the role of physical/chemical characteristics of human-generated droplets in altering embedded viruses’ viability. We also review studies evaluating these viruses in the air, field studies and available evidence about seasonality patterns. Ultimately the literature suggests that a proportion of virulent human coronaviruses can plausibly be transmitted via the air, even though this might vary in different conditions. Evidence exists for respirable-sized airborne droplet nuclei containing viral RNA, although this does not necessarily imply that the virus is transmittable, capable of replicating in a recipient host, or that inoculum is sufficient to initiate infection. However, evidence suggests that coronaviruses can survive in simulated droplet nuclei for a significant time (>24 h). Nevertheless, laboratory nebulized virus-laden aerosols might not accurately model the complexity of human carrier aerosols in studying airborne viral transport. In summary, there is disagreement on whether wild coronaviruses can be transmitted via an airborne path and display seasonal patterns. Further studies are therefore required to provide supporting evidence for the role of airborne transmission and assumed mechanisms underlying seasonality.

The emergence of a novel coronavirus named SARS-CoV-2 during December 2019, has caused the global outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which is officially announced to be a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). The increasing burden from this pandemic is seriously affecting everyone’s life, and threating the global public health. Understanding the transmission, survival, and evolution of the virus in the environment will assist in the prevention, control, treatment, and eradication of its infection. Herein, we aimed to elucidate the environmental impacts on the transmission and evolution of SARS-CoV-2, based on briefly introducing this respiratory virus. Future research objectives for the prevention and control of these contagious viruses and their related diseases are highlighted from the perspective of environmental science. This review should be of great help to prevent and control the epidemics caused by emerging respiratory coronaviruses (CoVs).

Microplastics can enter freshwater lakes through many sources. They can act as carriers to adsorb bacteria, virus, or pollutants (e.g., heavy metal and toxic organic compounds) that threaten human health through food chain. Microplastics can exist in surface water and sediments in freshwater lakes after they enter the lakes through discharge points. Wastewater discharge is the main cause of lake eutrophication and is the main emission source of microplastics. The correlation between lake trophic state and microplastic abundance has been rarely reported. This study investigated the microplastic contamination in surface water and sediments of 18 lakes along the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River Basin in the period of August–September 2018. The correlation between lake trophic state and microplastic abundance in surface water and sediments was investigated and discussed. The microplastic abundance in surface water was approximately two orders of magnitude lower than that in sediments in all 18 lakes. Hong Lake had the highest microplastic abundance in surface water sample, and Nantaizi Lake had the highest microplastic abundance in sediment sample. The dominant microplastic shape was fiber of 93.81% in surface water sample and 94.77% in sediment sample. Blue-colored microplastics were dominant in nearly all lakes in surface water sample (around 40%–60%) and sediment sample (around 60%–80%), followed by purple- and green-colored ones. The microplastics size <1 mm was dominant in surface water sample (around 40%–60%) and sediment sample (around 50%–80%). The dominant material was polypropylene in surface water sample (around 60%–80%) and sediment sample (around 40%–60%).

The widespread use of disposable face masks as a preventative strategy to address transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus has been a key environmental concern since the pandemic began. This has led to an unprecedented new form of contamination from improperly disposed masks, which liberates significant amounts of heavy metals and toxic chemicals in addition to volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Therefore, this study monitored the liberation of heavy metals, VOCs, and microfibers from submerged disposable face masks at different pH (4, 7 and 12), to simulate distinct environmental conditions. Lead (3.238% ppb), cadmium (0.672 ppb) and chromium (0.786 ppb) were found in the analyzed leachates. By pyrolysis, 2,4-dimethylhept-1-ene and 4-methylheptane were identified as the VOCs produced by the samples. The chemically degraded morphology in the FESEM images provided further evidence that toxic heavy metals and volatile organic compounds had been leached from the submerged face masks, with greater degradation observed in samples submerged at pH 7 and higher. The results are seen to communicate the comparable danger of passively degrading disposable face masks and the release of micro- or nanofibers into the marine environment. The toxicity of certain heavy metals and chemicals released from discarded face masks warrants better, more robust manufacturing protocols and increased public awareness for responsible disposal to reduce the adverse impact on ecology and human health.