Air pollution can make coronavirus more deadly — but pandemic is leaving cleaner air

One positive the coronavirus pandemic has brought the world is cleaner air, thanks in large part to fewer people driving their vehicles.

It comes at a good time, as some experts say polluted air can worsen the outcomes of COVID-19.

“There is fairly strong evidence that air pollution increases the risk of acute low respiratory infections,” John Balmes, a spokesman for the American Lung Association, told The Washington Post. “And it may have contributed to the extent of the outbreak in Wuhan.”

Sara De Matteis, a doctor at Italy’s Cagliari University, told The Guardian that patients with chronic lung and heart conditions see their conditions worsened because of air pollution and are more likely to die. It’s likely the case for COVID-19, she said.

“By lowering air pollution levels we can help the most vulnerable in their fight against this and any possible future pandemics,” De Matteis said.

Air pollution can lead to reduced lung function, increased asthma attacks and worsened cough and wheezing, according to the American Lung Association.

Perhaps not by choice, air quality is dramatically improving in many places throughout the world.

China had 21.5% more “good quality air days” in February than it did in February 2019, according to the country’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment, CNN reported.

China contributes nearly a third of the world’s CO2 emissions annually, CNN reported. A Stanford University scientist said the drop in pollution levels “likely has saved the lives of 4,000 kids under 5 and 73,000 adults over 70 In China.”

Carbon monoxide emissions have fallen nearly 50 percent in New York City, according to BBC. Italy has also seen major decreases, BBC reported.

While there are fewer vehicles on the roadways amid the pandemic, there aren’t necessarily fewer planes in the air. That isn’t helping the air quality.

“What counts is not the reduction in the number of people flying but the number of airplanes flying,” Michael Gerrerd, a professor at the Columbia School of Law, told The Hill. “There are a lot of airplanes running half empty.”

But when people resume their everyday life and emit CO2 as they previously did, the world won’t be in better shape, one expert said.

“The damage from CO2 just accumulates, so every ton we don’t release is not inflicted on the environment,” David Archer, a geophysical science professor at the University of Chicago, told The Hill. “But if everything goes back to business as usual when this ends, it won’t have much of an impact.”

This story was originally published March 19, 2020 at 8:10 AM with the headline "Air pollution can make coronavirus more deadly — but pandemic is leaving cleaner air."