Time Series Satellite and Observational Data for Assessment of Urban Air Pollution and Climate Dynamics Impacts on COVID-19 transmission in Bucharest

Abstract

This study conducts a complex analysis to evaluate urban air pollution and climate dynamics impacts on COVID-19 viral infection incidence and mortality in Bucharest metropolitan city in Romania. It is motivated by the COVID-19 pandemic occurrence and environmental/health challenges caused by increasing urbanization in Bucharest. This paper presents the temporal patterns characteristics of the main air pollutants PM2.5 and PM10 (inhalable particulate matter with aerodynamic size less than or equal to 2.5 µm and 10 µm, respectively) as well as nitrogen dioxide-NO2, ozone-O3, sulfur dioxide-SO2, and carbon monoxide-CO during the period March 2020–March 2022 through the integration of time-series surface observation and satellite data. Through the employing of descriptive statistics and regression models for multiple datasets of air pollutants and climate-related parameters such as air temperature at 2m height (T), relative humidity (RH), wind speed intensity (w), and direction, Planetary Boundary Layer height-PBL, and surface solar irradiance-SI, this study found that seasonal variation of aerosol loading parameters (PM2.5 and PM10) over the investigated metropolitan city have a direct impact on COVID-19 spreading. Nevertheless, additional environmental and epidemiological investigations are required to test the causality of air pollution and climate seasonality impacts on COVID-19 seasonality and its severity.