Covid, smog does not favor its spread

Smog and pandemic are not allies. The Po Valley with Lombardy and Emilia Romagna has worried millions of citizens for months about the effects of air pollution on Covid19. Science, however, says that he did not pay for this, a high cost of human lives. In any case, it should be known that the vast area straddling the Regions must always fight its battle against discharges of all kinds. A distressing and long story that causes, among other things, 60 billion in economic damage a year.

Covid in 2020 did no more damage than other years due to bad air. Human lives and social disasters are mourned, but a new Italian research published in the journal "Environmental Research" defines the climatic effects on the pandemic as negligible. “Particulate matter and viruses do not interact with each other. Therefore, excluding the gathering areas, the probability of greater air transmission of the contagion outdoors in areas with high atmospheric pollution appears essentially negligible". This is the summary of the study which adds to previous socio-economic assessments on the appropriateness of the closures.

In the first wave, as is known, Lombardy was the Region with the greatest spread of the virus. Milan and Bergamo have paid the highest price in deaths and blockage of social and economic activities for months. The study by the Institute of Atmospheric Sciences of the Cnr of Lecce and Bologna and Arpa Lombardia focused precisely on the two cities symbol of the pandemic. The outbreaks were alarming and from those difficult conditions the researchers set out to ascertain whether and to what extent the long-standing pollution problems had helped the virus to spread among those populations. It is also curious that local institutions have never given excessive importance to the phenomenon, despite the reports of doctors and experts.

The Region could have taken it into account to give explanations to the population. Perhaps there is also this in the Lombard management deficit of the pandemic. However, among the theses of the study, the relationship between viral diffusion with atmospheric parameters was placed. Assuming, then, that poor ventilation, atmospheric stability and atmospheric particulate pollutant present in high concentrations in the winter period could favor the airborne transmission of the infection. Daniele Contini, Cnr researcher also clarifies the methodology of the research. “It has been hypothesized that these elements can act as a vehicle for SARS-CoV-2 by forming clusters with the respiratory emissions of infected people. In this case, the consequent long-distance transport and the increase in the time spent in the atmosphere of the emitted particulate matter could have favored the airborne spread of the infection".

In Lombardy, social and economic activities have remained at a standstill for months and with reduced road traffic. Despite the initiatives on the increased use of renewable energies and local plans to abate emissions, the Milan area may still be affected by high levels of pollution. In this case, does the research confirm the 2020 trend? "The probability that the viral particles in the atmosphere form agglomerations with the pre-existing atmospheric particulate matter, however, remains negligible even in the conditions of high pollution typical of the Milan area in winter", replies Franco Belosi, Cnr researcher in Bologna.

It is possible that the viral particles could form other small groups but this does not significantly change the scenario. People should feel more comfortable based on the research, subject to maintaining all other health precautions. The Italian researchers are credited with having investigated the Po valley. However, if what was published in "Environmental Research" lowers worries about the greater spread of the epidemic in a vast area of ​​Italy, this is not the case for the permanent effects of fine particles. Everyday life, social relationships and economic scenarios are affected by it. In Italy alone, says the WHO, every year there are 56 deaths attributable to atmospheric poisons. Sooner or later science will defeat Covid 19. We'll see if good administration will be able to defeat pollution.