Air Pollution and COVID-19: A Double Threat

In Wuhan, China, there's a big link between air pollution and diseases. The city is famous for its factories, which pump out dark smoke. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, scientists found out that breathing in this polluted air made people get sick faster and need more medical help. Why does this happen? Polluted air makes your lungs work extra hard, leading to more heart and lung problems.To figure out who was the most affected, researchers used a method called Causal Forests. Surprisingly, older people and those with less money were hit the hardest. This double threat of pollution and pandemic tells us something important: when planning for disease outbreaks, we should think about the environment too. Plus, it shows how crucial it is to protect the most vulnerable groups in our community.