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Could Air Pollution Be Linked to Coronavirus Deaths?

Smart Cities Dive Apr 9, 2020
This article is deemed a must-read by one or more of our expert collaborators.
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Could Air Pollution Be Linked to Coronavirus Deaths? Giving Compass
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Giving Compass’ Take:

• A recent report from Harvard University indicates that cities in the U.S. that have high levels of air pollution are linked to COVID-19-related deaths. 

• Respiratory symptoms common to the COVID-19 infection are exacerbated by poor air quality. What can cities that are at risk do to prepare or address poor air quality?

• Learn about the current risks of air pollution in U.S. cities. 


Areas in the United States that had high levels of air pollution before the outbreak of the new coronavirus (COVID-19) are more likely to see patients die from the infection during its spread, according to a new report from Harvard University.

Researchers at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health analyzed 3,080 counties in the United States and found that an increase of just 1 microgram per cubic meter of fine particulate matter (air pollution also known as PM 2.5) led to a 15% increase in death rates, even when factoring in smoking, the weather and population density.

Harvard says this is the first study to make an explicit link between air pollution and COVID-19 deaths, though experts have argued for some time that related respiratory symptoms can be exacerbated by poor air quality.

And this is not the first time an epidemic’s worst effects have been linked to high levels of air pollution. The researchers wrote their findings “are consistent with findings that air pollution exposure dramatically increased the risk of death during the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2003, which is caused by another type of coronavirus.”

City leaders should be concerned about their air quality, based on previous findings that paint a gloomy picture of the level of pollutants. A report earlier this year from Environment America, U.S. Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG) and Frontier Group found that one-third of Americans live in regions that saw more than 100 days with unhealthy air quality in 2018.

Read the full article about air quality by Chris Teale at Smart Cities Dive.

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Public Health is a complex topic, and others found these selections from the Impact Giving archive from Giving Compass to be good resources.

  • This article is deemed a must-read by one or more of our expert collaborators.
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    In rural India, more solar, better healthcare

      Half of all primary-care clinics in India lack access to regular, reliable supplies of electricity, affecting almost 40 million households. The result: power outages during childbirths, loss of vital medicines without refrigeration, and reduced access to water without electrically powered pumps. In response, between 2012 and 2016, the government in the state of Chhattisgarh equipped 570 primary-care centers with 2 kW rooftop photovoltaic systems with battery backup. For the study, CEEW India, a think tank, surveyed 147 health centers, 83 with solar systems. Of the centers with solar, 84% responded that they were able to meet all their electricity needs, and 98% said solar power has helped with day-to-day functions at the health centers. Nine out of 10 of the centers with solar reported electricity cost savings. Read the source article at ImpactAlpha


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