Linkage between Airborne Particulate Matter and Viral Pandemic COVID-19 in Bucharest

• Published in: Microorganisms (Basel) Vol. 11; no. 10; p. 2531
• Main Authors: Zoran, Maria, Savastru, Roxana, Savastru, Dan, Tautan, Marina, Tenciu, Daniel
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 01.10.2023; MDPI
• Subjects: Aerosols; Air pollution; Airborne particulates; Bucharest; Chemical compounds; climate variables; COVID-19; Diameters; Environmental aspects; Epidemics; Health aspects; Optical analysis; Optical thickness; Outdoor air quality; Pandemics; Particles; Particulate emissions; Particulate matter; Romania; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Statistical analysis; Viral diseases; Viral infections; Virions; Romania; Bucharest Romania; COVID-19; particulate matter; air pollution; Romania; Bucharest; climate variables
• ISSN: 2076-2607; 2076-2607
• DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms11102531

The long-distance spreading and transport of airborne particulate matter (PM) of biogenic or chemical compounds, which are thought to be possible carriers of SARS-CoV-2 virions, can have a negative impact on the incidence and severity of COVID-19 viral disease. Considering the total Aerosol Optical Depth at 550 nm (AOD) as an atmospheric aerosol loading variable, inhalable fine PM with a diameter ≤2.5 µm (PM2.5) or coarse PM with a diameter ≤10 µm (PM10) during 26 February 2020-31 March 2022, and COVID-19's five waves in Romania, the current study investigates the impact of outdoor PM on the COVID-19 pandemic in Bucharest city. Through descriptive statistics analysis applied to average daily time series in situ and satellite data of PM2.5, PM10, and climate parameters, this study found decreased trends of PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations of 24.58% and 18.9%, respectively compared to the pre-pandemic period (2015-2019). Exposure to high levels of PM2.5 and PM10 particles was positively correlated with COVID-19 incidence and mortality. The derived average PM2.5/PM10 ratios during the entire pandemic period are relatively low (<0.44), indicating a dominance of coarse traffic-related particles' fraction. Significant reductions of the averaged AOD levels over Bucharest were recorded during the first and third waves of COVID-19 pandemic and their associated lockdowns (~28.2% and ~16.4%, respectively) compared to pre-pandemic period (2015-2019) average AOD levels. The findings of this research are important for decision-makers implementing COVID-19 safety controls and health measures during viral infections.