Spatialized PM2.5 during COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil’s most populous southern city: implications for post-pandemic era

Brazil has experienced one of the highest COVID-19 fatality rates globally. While numerous studies have explored the potential connection between air pollution, specifically fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ), and the exacerbation of SARS-CoV-2 infection, the majority of this research has been conducted in foreign regions—Europe, the United States, and China—correlating generalized pollution levels with health-related scopes. In this study, our objective is to investigate the localized connection between exposure to air pollution exposure and its health implications within a specific Brazilian municipality, focusing on COVID-19 susceptibility. Our investigation involves assessing pollution levels through spatial interpolation of in situ PM 2.5 measurements. A network of affordable sensors collected data across 9 regions in Curitiba, as well as its metropolitan counterpart, Araucaria. Our findings distinctly reveal a significant positive correlation (with r -values reaching up to 0.36, p -value