Short-term exposure to Air Pollution and COVID-19 in India: A Spatio-temporal analysis of Relative Risk from 20 Metropolitan cities

Abstract Since the emergence of Coronavirus, numerous studies have been in progress to predict the possible association between air pollution and COVID-19 cases/ deaths. There is significant importance in finding the relative risk due to air pollution by considering the meteorological conditions. In the present study, an attempt is made to find the effects of air pollution on COVID-19 deaths on the country scale with high temporal datasets. The short-term air pollution exposure study with the combined effect of temperature and humidity is considered. The daily observed maximum concentration of air pollution and meteorological variables data of twenty major cities across India were collected between 26-Apr-2020 and 1-Nov- 2021. The generalized additive model (GAM) is applied to the individual pollutant data and non-cumulative daily new COVID-19 incidence/ deaths. All major pollutants PM2.5, PM10, SO2, and O3 are positively attributed to COVID-19 cases and deaths. For every 10 µg/m3 increment in pollutant concentration, there is an increment in incidences by for PM2.5, PM10, CO, and O3, are 1%, 1.5%, 7.7%, 8% respectively. Similarly, for every 10 µg/m3 increment in pollutant concentration, there is an increment in deaths for PM2.5, PM10, CO, and O3, which are 1.5%, 2.3%, 7.7%, 8%, respectively. The Relative maximum risk is attributed to O3, and the minimum relative risk is due to PM2.5. These results suggest that policymakers should take appropriate measures to mitigate outdoor air pollution.