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Editor's Note: John D. Sutter is a contributor to CNN and National Geographic Explorer. He is the director of the upcoming BASELINE series, which visits four locations on the front lines of the climate crisis every five years until 2050. Visit the project's website or follow it on Instagram. The opinions expressed in this comment are the author's own. See more of the opinion section on CNN in Spanish.
(CNN) –– Surprise quiz: which of these could put you at greater risk during the covid-19 pandemic?
1. Do not wash your hands
2. Meet in large groups
3. Air pollution
The answer: all of the above.
However, number 3 is not receiving the attention it deserves.
It turns out that air pollution is extremely bad for you - deadly, actually - all the time. But it is especially dangerous in the midst of a global pandemic that attacks the lungs.
A recent study, still pending external review, by researchers at Harvard's TH Chan School of Public Health, estimates a 15% increase in the death rate of covid-19 with a small increase - 1 microgram per meter. cubic air - in a type of air pollution called fine particle matter, or PM2.5, that is associated with the burning of fossil fuels and other materials.
These particles are small enough to penetrate deep into the lungs.
"Although the epidemiology of covid-19 is evolving," the researchers write, "we have determined that there is a large overlap between the causes of death of covid-19 patients and the diseases that are affected by long-term exposure to covid-19. fine particles ”.
This information is preliminary, but surprising.
- The death rate from covid-19 in the US Highest in counties with the most air pollution, study finds
Here's another surprising fact from Dr. Aaron Bernstein, acting director of the Harvard Center for Global Climate and Environmental Health, or C-CHANGE. In a recent conference call with journalists, Bernstein said the reduction of air pollution in China, associated with the economic slowdown caused by the pandemic, is likely to have saved as many lives in China as the covid-19 has claimed. It is a rough estimate, based on estimates by Marshall Burke, an assistant professor of Earth system science at Stanford University.
Importantly, Burke notes that, “None of my calculations supports any idea that pandemics are good for health. The effects I estimate only represent health benefits from changes in air pollution caused by economic disruption, and do not take into account the many other short or long term negative health problems or consequences of this disorder or other health outcomes. ; these damages far exceed any health benefits of reducing air pollution. ”
Emphasizing the importance of air quality, he commented: "Now is the time to talk about this ... Now is the time to recognize that we can improve when it comes to improving the health of people across the country and also address critical needs. related to our health ”.
"Climate solutions are in fact pandemic solutions," he added.
- Will we learn lessons to confront climate change from our current crisis?
What does this all mean?
I am not a scientist or a doctor. But I am very concerned about health, the environment and climate change, and for me there are two key points.
The first thing is that air quality is important. The World Health Organization says that air pollution kills about 7 million people a year. Seven million! That's almost the population of Chicago and Los Angeles, combined.
The world needs to get rid of fossil fuels, anyway, because they contribute to the climate crisis. The best scientific and political advice tells us that we need to reach zero net emissions by about 2050, or face faster melting ice sheets, rising sea levels and storm surges, changes that would contribute to famines and millions of deaths.
If that is not a compelling enough reason, switching to renewable resources would save millions of additional lives due to reduced air pollution.
The second point is more particular for covid-19.
Nations around the world, particularly the United States, China and those in Europe, are spending trillions of dollars in response to the new coronavirus pandemic. Part of the money, according to the Center for Biological Diversity, will go towards strengthening polluting industries through economic stimulus packages. This means that we are spending money during a public health crisis that we know will only make people sick.
That is a mental puzzle. It is also covering tragedy with tragedy.
Governments can lead this by investing in zero emission technologies.
Journalists and the public must hold them accountable.
- Scientists study the use of plasma to fight the coronavirus
Meanwhile, the Donald Trump administration has suspended enforcement of environmental laws amid the pandemic. However, we know from Harvard researchers that some of the activities that should be regulated, those that create air pollution, also seem to put people at increased risk of death from covid-19.
It is a deadly feedback loop that few are discussing.
That may change. This can and should be a time when the world realizes that the risks associated with fossil fuels are truly a matter of life and death.
That is true all the time.
It is especially alarming in the midst of this pandemic.
Air pollutioncovid-19