ArticleEarth systems and environment2020
Peaks of Fine Particulate Matter May Modulate the Spreading and Virulence of COVID-19.
Article in Earth systems and environment, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
24 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- A review of strategies and their effectiveness in reducing indoor airborne transmission and improving indoor air quality.Environmental research · 2022Pooled it
- Infectious Diseases Associated with Desert Dust Outbreaks: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- Geographical and climatic risk factors for COVID-19 in southwest Iran during the 2020-2021 epidemic.PloS one · 2025Article
- Causal relationship between particulate matter 2.5 (PMJournal of global health · 2023Article
- Synergic effects of PMJournal of exposure science & environmental epidemiology · 2023Article
- The Role of Mass Media in Influencing the Lifestyle of the Elderly during the COVID-19 Pandemic.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Relation between PM2.5 pollution and Covid-19 mortality in Western Europe for the 2020-2022 period.The Science of the total environment · 2022Article
- Moving toward a common goal via cross-sector collaboration: lessons learned from SARS to COVID-19 in Singapore.Globalization and health · 2022Article
- Assessment of the association between dust storms and COVID-19 infection rate in southwest Iran.Environmental science and pollution research international · 2022Article
- Article
- Airborne magnetic nanoparticles may contribute to COVID-19 outbreak: Relationships in Greece and Iran.Environmental research · 2022Article
- The COVID-19 Pandemic: Quantification of Temporal Variations in Air Pollutants Before, During and Post the Lockdown in Jeddah City, Saudi Arabia.Earth systems and environment · 2022Article
- A hybrid Neural Network-SEIR model for forecasting intensive care occupancy in Switzerland during COVID-19 epidemics.PloS one · 2022Article
- Accounting for uncertainty during a pandemic.Patterns (New York, N.Y.) · 2021Review
- Article
- Simple quantitative assessment of the outdoor versus indoor airborne transmission of viruses and COVID-19.Environmental research · 2021Article
- Assessment of weather and atmospheric pollution as a co-factor in the spread of SARS-CoV-2.Acta bio-medica : Atenei Parmensis · 2021Article
- Exploring fear of COVID-19 and its correlates among older adults in Bangladesh.Globalization and health · 2021Article
- Does the medical insurance system play a real role in reducing catastrophic economic burden in elderly patients with cardiovascular disease in China? Implication for accurately targeting vulnerable characteristics.Globalization and health · 2021Article
- Impact of Weather Parameters and Population Density on the COVID-19 Transmission: Evidence from 81 Provinces of Turkey.Earth systems and environment · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
A probe of a patient, seeking help in an emergency ward of a French hospital in late December 2019 because of Influenza like symptoms, was retrospectively tested positive to COVID-19. Despite the early appearance of the virus in Europe, the prevalence and virulence appeared to be low for several weeks, before the spread and severity of symptoms increased exponentially, yet with marked spatial and temporal differences. Here, we compare the possible linkages between peaks of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and the sudden, explosive increase of hospitalizations and mortality rates in the Swiss Canton of Ticino, and the Greater Paris and London regions. We argue that these peaks of fine particulate matter are primarily occurring during thermal inversion of the boundary layer of the atmosphere. We also discuss the influence of Saharan dust intrusions on the COVID-19 outbreak observed in early 2020 on the Canary Islands. We deem it both reasonable and plausible that high PM2.5 concentrations-favored by air temperature inversions or Saharan dust intrusions-are not only modulating but even more so boosting severe outbreaks of COVID-19. Moreover, desert dust events-besides enhancing PM2.5 concentrations-can be a vector for fungal diseases, thereby exacerbating COVID-19 morbidity and mortality. We conclude that the overburdening of the health services and hospitals as well as the high over-mortality observed in various regions of Europe in spring 2020 may be linked to peaks of PM2.5 and likely particular weather situations that have favored the spread and enhanced the virulence of the virus. In the future, we recommended to monitor not only the prevalence of the virus, but also to consider the occurrence of weather situations that can lead to sudden, very explosive COVID-19 outbreaks.
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