Researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health released a new study on Friday linking fine particulate air pollution (PM2.5) from wildfire smoke to an increase of coronavirus cases on the west coast in 2020.
“Clearly, we see that, overall, this is a very dangerous combination,” Francesca Dominici, one of the authors of the study, told The Washington Post. “It’s a really scary thing as we continue to face these wildfires all around the world.”
The study was conducted by researchers from the Harvard Chan School, the John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and the Environmental Systems Research Institute in Redlands, California.
“Earlier studies have found evidence that air pollution can worsen the severity of covid-19 symptoms and hasten the spread of the novel coronavirus, although there is still uncertainty regarding how particles and the virus interact,” The Post reported. “A study published this year by scientists at the Desert Research Institute in Nevada found that the coronavirus positivity rate in Washoe County, Nev., increased significantly during periods of high wildfire smoke.”
The study found “substantial” increases in coronavirus cases and deaths attributable to wildfire smoke.
“”The year 2020 brought unimaginable challenges in public health, with the convergence of the COVID-19 pandemic and wildfires across the western United States. In this study we are providing evidence that climate change — which increases the frequency and the intensity of wildfires — and the pandemic are a disastrous combination,” Dominici said.