Dear Editor,
The recent Covid-19 surge in India intrigued me to think if climate change contributed to the pandemic. To concur with my curious mind, Time magazine published an article on the same subject. Anumita Roychowdhury, Executive Director of Research and Advocacy at Centre for Science and Environment in Delhi expressed that impact of the pandemic can be higher in polluted regions where peoples’ lungs have already been weakened due to long term exposure to polluted air, hence making major Indian cities vulnerable. Another paper published in the journal, Cardiovascular Research, found that chronic exposure to particulate matter – a type of pollution that results from a mix of chemicals from sources like smokestacks and fires – is likely linked to some 15% of global COVID-19 deaths.
Although particulate matter does not just come from fossil fuels, the study’s authors found that more than 50% of air pollution-linked COVID-19 deaths are specifically connected to fossil-fuel use. Therefore, metropolises experienced rapid spread of virus than suburbs of India. Nature is an integral facet of the human body and has everything to contribute to our wellbeing. People in cities crave for the fresh breath of the countryside. This might sound like nature excursion but there is much truth that the human body is connected to nature. The air and food that we consume determine our health as well. As we thank nature for the fresh air from Guyana’s rich oxygen-laden rainforest, we must make every effort to preserve and protect same to continue to breathe and eat healthy.
Sincerely,
Jerri Dias
