Abstract
The coronavirus pandemic has not only gripped the scientific community in the search for a vaccine or a cure but also in attempts using statistics and association analysis—to identify environmental factors that increase its potency. A study by Ogen (Sci Total Environ 726:138605, 2020a) explored the possible correlation between coronavirus fatality and high nitrogen dioxide exposure in four European countries—France, Germany, Italy and Spain. Meanwhile, another study showed the importance of nitrogen dioxide along with population density in determining the coronavirus pandemic rate in England. In this follow-up study, Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) was introduced in conjunction with other variables like nitrogen dioxide and population density for further analysis in fifty-four administrative regions of Germany, Italy and Spain. The AOD values were extracted from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) onboard the Terra and Aqua satellites while the nitrogen dioxide data were extracted from TROPOMI (TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument) sensor onboard the Sentinel-5 Precursor satellite. Regression models, as well as multiple statistical tests were used to evaluate the predictive skill and significance of each variable to the fatality rate. The study was conducted for two periods: (1) pre-exposure period (Dec 1, 2019–Feb 29, 2020); (2) complete exposure period (Dec 1, 2019–Jul 1, 2020). Some of the results pointed towards AOD potentially being a factor in estimating the coronavirus fatality rate. The models performed better using the data collected during the complete exposure period, which showed higher AOD values contributed to an increased significance of AOD in the models. Meanwhile, some uncertainties of the analytical results could be attributed to data quality and the absence of other important factors that determine the coronavirus fatality rate.
Highlights
In December 2019, many cases of pneumonia were reported in Wuhan, China
For pre-exposure, the results indicate a greater significance for population density in the COVID-19 fatality rate than when the significance of Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) and NO2 was investigated in these countries
The regression models showed results regarding the significance of AOD in statistically explaining COVID-19 fatality rates, along with NO2 and population density
Summary
In December 2019, many cases of pneumonia were reported in Wuhan, China. The subsequent investigation revealed the cause to be a novel coronavirus, which was later called1 3 Vol.:(0123456789)2019 novel coronavirus (SARS-Cov-2) or more commonly, the COVID-19 (Barcelo 2020). In December 2019, many cases of pneumonia were reported in Wuhan, China. The subsequent investigation revealed the cause to be a novel coronavirus, which was later called. 2019 novel coronavirus (SARS-Cov-2) or more commonly, the COVID-19 (Barcelo 2020). The virus that originated in China spread across the world, becoming a global pandemic and affecting millions worldwide. According to Worldometers (https://www.worldometers.info/), the death count (as of Aug 24, 2020) due to the COVID-19 has surpassed 810,000, a number that probably underestimates the actual count, due to reporting issues (Lachmann et al 2020; Cohen 2020; Bendix 2020). Apart from working to develop a vaccine, many researchers have investigated other factors that might impact coronavirus fatality. Some of the other factors being studied include arctic oscillation (Sanchez-Lorenzo et al 2020), air quality and wealth (Antonietti et al 2020; Nichol et al 2020), particulate matter pollution (Setti et al 2020), diabetes (Means 2020), wind speeds (Coccia 2020), and ultraviolet radiation (Carleton et al 2020), to name a few
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
