The Role of Meteorological Variables and Aerosols in the Transmission of COVID‐19 During Harmattan Season

The role of atmospheric parameters and aerosols in the transmission of COVID‐19 within tropical Africa, especially during the harmattan season, has been under‐investigated in published papers. The harmattan season within the West African region is associated with significant dust incursion from the Bodele depression and biomass burning. In this study, the correlation between atmospheric parameters (temperature and humidity) and aerosols with COVID‐19 cases and fatalities within seven locations in tropical Nigeria during the harmattan period was investigated. COVID‐19 infection cases were found to be significantly positively correlated with atmospheric parameters (temperature and humidity) in the southern part of the country while the number of fatalities showed weaker significant correlation with particulate matters only in three locations. The significant correlation values were found to be between 0.22 and 0.48 for particulate matter and −0.19 to −0.32 for atmospheric parameters. Although, temperature and humidity showed negative correlations in some locations, the impact is smaller compared to particulate matter. In December, COVID‐19 cases in all locations showed strong correlation with particulate matter except in Kano State. It is suggested that a reduction in atmospheric particulate matter can be used as a control measure for the spread of COVID‐19.