Effect of ambient air pollution and meteorological factors on the potential transmission of COVID-19 in Turkey

There is a need to improve the understanding of air quality parameters and meteorological conditions on the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in different regions of the world. In this preliminary study, we explore the relationship between short-term air quality (nitrogen dioxide (NO(2)), sulfur dioxide (SO(2)), ozone (O(3)), and particulate matter (PM(2.5), PM(10))) exposure, temperature, humidity, and wind speed on SARS-CoV-2 transmission in 41 cities of Turkey with reported weekly cases from February 8 to April 2, 2021. Both linear and non-linear relationships were explored. The nonlinear association between weekly confirmed cases and short-term exposure to predictor factors was investigated using a generalized additive model (GAM). The preliminary results indicate that there was a significant association between humidity and weekly confirmed COVID-19 cases. The cooler temperatures had a positive correlation with the occurrence of new confirmed cases. The low PM(2.5) concentrations had a negative correlation with the number of new cases, while reducing SO(2) concentrations may help decrease the number of new cases. This is the first study investigating the relationship between measured air pollutants, meteorological factors, and the number of weekly confirmed COVID-19 cases across Turkey. There are several limitations of the presented study, however, the preliminary results show that there is a need to understand the impacts of regional air quality parameters and meteorological factors on the transmission of the virus.