Air pollution linked to 15% of virus deaths, bad for heart: Study

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Oct 28, 2020 06:00 am

PARIS: Long-term exposure to air pollution may be linked to 15 per cent of Covid-19 deaths globally, according to research published yesterday that highlights the health risks posed by greenhouse gas emissions.

The study, by experts in Germany and Cyprus, and published in the journal Cardiovascular Research, drew on health and disease data from the US and China relating to air pollution, Covid-19 and Sars .

They combined this with satellite data of global exposure to particulate matter - microscopic particles - as well as ground-based pollution monitoring networks, to calculate to what extent air pollution can be blamed for Covid-19 deaths.

"If both long-term exposure to air pollution and infection with Covid-19 virus come together, then we have an adverse effect on health, particularly with respect to the heart and blood vessels," said the paper's co-author Thomas Munzel. - AFP