Cleaner Air from COVID-19 Lockdowns May Save Lives 

One of the few pleasant side effects of COVID-19 lockdowns has been the widely observed drop in air pollution because of reduced industrial and manufacturing production and auto emissions. "This is by far the most comprehensive and detailed look at the air quality impacts of shutdowns related to COVID that I've seen," said University of British Columbia environmental health professor Michael Brauer, who was not involved in the research. A woman enjoys the sun on her balcony as the Eiffel Tower is clearly seen in the background during the nationwide confinement to counter the conoravirus in Saint-Cloud, west of Paris, April 22, 2020.However, Brauer finds the health impact estimates "overly simplistic." The researchers used satellite data and readings from more than 10,000 air monitors in 27 countries and compared those with figures from the previous three years, factoring in weather variations. The downtown Phoenix skyline is easier to see, April 7, 2020, as fewer motorists in Arizona are driving, following the state stay-at-home order due to the coronavirus. In India alone, the authors estimate, cleaner air spared 5,300 lives in the two weeks following the pandemic lockdown. In the unlikely and unwelcome event that lockdowns were to remain in place all year, the researchers calculate that the figures would grow to 780,000 lives spared and 1.6 million asthma cases avoided in the 27 countries studied. "Probably the most important complication," the University of British Columbia's Brauer added, "is that there are other [pollution] sources that we have not stopped." Brauer agrees there are likely some health benefits to the reductions in pollution, but he is skeptical that the researchers can accurately predict how many lives have been saved. "These numbers do need to be interrupted with a lot of caution," Harvard University biostatistician Francesca Dominici said.