Renard, J.-B.; Surcin, J.; Annesi-Maesano, I.; Poincelet, E. Temporal Evolution of PM2.5 Levels and COVID-19 Mortality in Europe for the 2020–2022 Period. Atmosphere2023, 14, 1222.
Renard, J.-B.; Surcin, J.; Annesi-Maesano, I.; Poincelet, E. Temporal Evolution of PM2.5 Levels and COVID-19 Mortality in Europe for the 2020–2022 Period. Atmosphere 2023, 14, 1222.
Renard, J.-B.; Surcin, J.; Annesi-Maesano, I.; Poincelet, E. Temporal Evolution of PM2.5 Levels and COVID-19 Mortality in Europe for the 2020–2022 Period. Atmosphere2023, 14, 1222.
Renard, J.-B.; Surcin, J.; Annesi-Maesano, I.; Poincelet, E. Temporal Evolution of PM2.5 Levels and COVID-19 Mortality in Europe for the 2020–2022 Period. Atmosphere 2023, 14, 1222.
Abstract
Rationale: The possible effect of Particulate Matter (PM10 and PM2.5 of diameter 10 and 2.5 µm respectively) levels on Covid-19 mortality is now well established. However, time-evolution of Covid-19 mortality according to PM2.5 levels has been scarcely investigated.
Aim: To understand this relationship at the European level for the period 2020 (beginning) - 2022 (end).
Methods: 16 representative locations in Europe (81 million people) with heterogeneous levels of PM2.5 (µg.m-3), from low to high. PM2.5 levels were assessed by various methods, and Covid-19 mortality was reported by Johns Hopkins University.
Results: The trend of Covid-19 mortality vs. PM2.5 levels varied among locations. Overall, the estimated mean value was of a 40±20% mortality increase per 1 µg.m-3 PM2.5 increase. The stronger the positive gradient of the PM peak, the stronger the positive gradient of the Covid-19 mortality. Exposure to several PM peaks during about a 2-month period was the main contributor to Covid-19 mortality increases.
Conclusion: Our data confirm a temporal relation between PM2.5 exposure and Covid-19 mortality, considering a 2-month integration-time for pollution events. Number-concentrations of PM should be used in the future rather than the PM2.5 mass-concentrations (µg.m-3) with the consideration of PM composition to better explain this finding.
Keywords
Covid-19; mortality; PM2.5; air pollution; Europe
Subject
Environmental and Earth Sciences, Pollution
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
