From 16 cities across 36 states, Pune and Mumbai were the two cities picked from Maharashtra (falling under zone 6) for the study
Smoke is seen coming out of a crematorium's chimney where Covid-19 dead bodies are cremated at Yerwada in Pune. (Pratham Gokhale/HT Photo)
PUNE NEWS
By Steffy Thevar
PUBLISHED ON JUN 26, 2021
HINDUSTAN TIMES
A study involving various experts from across the country found a correlation between high levels of pollution and Covid-19 deaths. The study shows that Maharashtra has recorded the second-highest annual particulate matter 2.5 emission loads in India and has also recorded the highest number of Covid-19 related deaths which indicates a link between air pollution and Covid-19, both of which directly impact the respiratory system.
The study titled ‘Establishing a link between fine particulate matter (PM2.5) zones and Covid -19 over India based on anthropogenic emission sources and air quality data’ also provided the first evidence about how people living in highly polluted areas are vulnerable to Covid-19 infection.
It is authored by Dr Saroj Kumar Sahu, PG environment sciences and Poonam Mangaraj, PG environment sciences from Utkal University, Bhubaneswar; Dr Gufran Beig, senior scientist; Suvarna Tikle, a scientist from IITM-Pune; Bhishma Tyagi, National Institute of Technology, Rourkela and V Vinoj, IIT-Bhubaneswar.
In the study, Covid-19 cases were observed between March 2020 to November 2020, while national PM 2.5 emissions load were estimated from the base year 2019.
For the study authors divided specific areas into different hotspot zones across India. From 16 cities across 36 states, Pune and Mumbai were the two cities picked from Maharashtra (falling under zone 6) for the study. Also, Pune and Mumbai are among the Covid-19 hotspots in the country, where high air pollution from the transport and industrial sectors are having a visible relationship with a higher number of Covid-19 cases and casualties.
No comments:
Post a Comment