Investigating the links between air pollution and COVID-19

City Hall commissioned Imperial College London to review the evidence of links between Covid-19 and air pollution, and to review and update the evidence on links between air quality and other infectious diseases.

Key findings of the report are:

• There is evidence that long-term exposure to air pollution increases susceptibility to worse outcomes from COVID-19.
• There is evidence that exposure to air pollution might increase the likelihood of contracting COVID-19 if you are exposed to the coronavirus.
• There is already a well-established link between air pollution and a range of infections in the lower part of the lung, and recent studies continue to show a link between air pollution and hospital admissions for lung infections across a range of age groups.