Impact of the COVID-19 Epidemic: Scenario in a Tropical Environment

The present study investigates the association of COVID-19 virus transmission with atmospheric and air quality parameters including temperature, moisture, particulate matter (PM), and nitrogen dioxide (NO(2)). The variation in the reproduction number (R(0); a measure to reflect the infectiousness of a disease) for COVID-19 transmission is evaluated for tropical and mid-latitude countries. Results suggest that mid-latitude atmospheric conditions are more favorable to COVID-19 transmission as compared to the tropical atmosphere. The peak value of R(0) was noted as 2.35 (95% CI 2.11–2.57) on 23 March 2020, and it decreased significantly due to strict lockdown from 25 March 2020 to 1 April 2020. The R(0) value further increased after 1 April 2020 over India, and the value of R(0) was found to be greater than 1, indicating that the epidemic was active. Moreover, the present study was also extended to understand the impact of global/Indian lockdowns on air quality and R(0) value for COVID-19 transmission. Our findings revealed that the global/Indian lockdown helped reduce the R(0) value of COVID-19 transmission, which is associated with atmospheric and air quality parameters. Furthermore, a significant reduction in air pollution over India during the lockdown also has implications for continued exploration of clean energy prospects in the future. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00024-021-02793-0.