MUMBAI: Mumbai’s suburbs such as Ghatkopar, Vikhroli, Bhandup, Mulund, Kurla, Andheri, Vile Parle and Kandivli are more prone to Covid-19 due to prolonged and excessive exposure to air pollutants, states a new study. The first-of-its-kind ward-level study by the International Institute of Population Sciences (IIPS) points to a significant association between pollution and Covid-19 in Mumbai.
While the concentration of particulate matter (PM10) is much more than the WHO-specified guidelines in the entire city, higher prevalence of sulphur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in suburban wards such as S, T, N, R-South and K-East may have compounded the Covid crisis, states the study.