A recent study, which is still awaiting peer review, from researchers at Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Public Health, estimates a 15% increased death rate from Covid-19 with a small increase — 1 microgram per cubic meter of air -- in a type of air pollution called fine particulate matter, or PM2.5, which is associated with burning fossil fuels and other material.

These are particles tiny enough to penetrate deep into the lungs.

"Although the epidemiology of Covid-19 is evolving," the researchers write, "we have determined that there is a large overlap between causes of deaths of Covid-19 patients and the diseases that are affected by long-term exposure to fine particulate matter."

This info is preliminary, but startling.

Here's another stunning fact from Dr. Aaron Bernstein, interim director of Harvard's Center for Climate Health and the Global Environment, or C-CHANGE. In a recent conference call with reporters, Bernstein said it's likely that air pollution reductions in China -- associated with the economic slowdown caused by the pandemic -- saved as many lives in China as Covid-19 has taken there. That's a rough calculation, based on estimates from Marshall Burke, an assistant professor of Earth system science at Stanford University.

Importantly, Burke notes that, "None of my calculations support any idea that pandemics are good for health. The effects I calculate just represent health benefits from the air pollution changes wrought by the economic disruption, and do not account for the many other short- or long-term negative consequences of this disruption on health or other outcomes; these harms vastly exceed any health benefits from reduced air pollution."

Emphasizing the importance of air quality, he said, "Now is the time to talk about this...Now is the time to recognize that we can do better when it comes to improving the health of people around the country, and also addressing critical needs related to our health."

"Climate solutions are in fact pandemic solutions," he said.