Abstract
Since its identification in Wuhan, China, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has infected more than 104 million and killed over 2.2 million people worldwide (1). Recent studies of air pollution and COVID-19 cases and mortality in diverse international settings add convincingly to a large body of evidence showing that exposure to air pollution exacerbates viral respiratory infections and consequently widens health disparities. Meanwhile, the global lockdown response through a near global economic standstill resulted in a temporary improvement in short-term air quality, likely reducing pollution-related, non-COVID-19 deaths. A large proportion of the global population, including those in Europe and the United States, still live in areas where ambient air pollution levels exceed World Health Organization guidelines, with racial minorities being disproportionally affected. In this commentary, we review studies linking air pollution to worse COVID-19 outcomes and discuss several ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic highlights the urgent need to address the global problem of air pollution through sustainable local and national policies to improve respiratory health and equity worldwide.