Relationship between Meteorological and Air Quality Parameters and COVID-19 in Casablanca Region, Morocco

Mohamed Khalis, Aly Badara Toure, Imad El Badisy, Kenza Khomsi, Houda Najmi, Oumnia Bouaddi, Abdelghafour Marfak, Wael K. Al-Delaimy, Mohamed Berraho and Chakib Nejjari
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Mohamed Khalis: International School of Public Health, Mohammed VI University of Health Sciences (UM6SS), Casablanca 82403, Morocco
Aly Badara Toure: International School of Public Health, Mohammed VI University of Health Sciences (UM6SS), Casablanca 82403, Morocco
Imad El Badisy: International School of Public Health, Mohammed VI University of Health Sciences (UM6SS), Casablanca 82403, Morocco
Kenza Khomsi: International School of Public Health, Mohammed VI University of Health Sciences (UM6SS), Casablanca 82403, Morocco
Houda Najmi: General Directorate of Meteorology, Casablanca 20000, Morocco
Oumnia Bouaddi: International School of Public Health, Mohammed VI University of Health Sciences (UM6SS), Casablanca 82403, Morocco
Abdelghafour Marfak: National School of Public Health, Rabat 10000, Morocco
Wael K. Al-Delaimy: Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science, University of California, San Diego, CA 92093, USA
Mohamed Berraho: Department of Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy of Fez, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, Fez 30000, Morocco
Chakib Nejjari: International School of Public Health, Mohammed VI University of Health Sciences (UM6SS), Casablanca 82403, Morocco

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 9, 1-13

Abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between meteorological parameters, air quality and daily COVID-19 transmission in Morocco. We collected daily data of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Casablanca region, as well as meteorological parameters (average temperature, wind, relative humidity, precipitation, duration of insolation) and air quality parameters (CO, NO 2 , 03, SO 2 , PM10) during the period of 2 March 2020, to 31 December 2020. The General Additive Model (GAM) was used to assess the impact of these parameters on daily cases of COVID-19. A total of 172,746 confirmed cases were reported in the study period. Positive associations were observed between COVID-19 and wind above 20 m/s and humidity above 80%. However, temperatures above 25° were negatively associated with daily cases of COVID-19. PM10 and O 3 had a positive effect on the increase in the number of daily confirmed COVID-19 cases, while precipitation had a borderline effect below 25 mm and a negative effect above this value. The findings in this study suggest that significant associations exist between meteorological factors, air quality pollution (PM10) and the transmission of COVID-19. Our findings may help public health authorities better control the spread of COVID-19.

Keywords: COVID-19; air pollutants; air quality; meteorological parameters; time-series analysis; generalized additive model; Morocco (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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