When using につれて, does the direction of change have to be the same?

Question

I understand that につれて can be used to express changes brought about by A on B where the extent of change in A has a proportional effect on B.

For example, "感染者が増えるにつれて、亡くなる人がどんどん増えていく。"

However, does the direction of this change have to be the same?

For example, can I say something like:

雨が降るにつれて、空を飛んでいる鳥が減っていく。

+1 but it might be worth re-wording a bit. You question currently asks if one thing can increase while the other decreases, but your second example has one thing changing while another thing happens. This is a much broader question than your title suggests. — user3856370, Apr 26 '20 at 9:39
Oh I see it now! I meant to convey something like "As the downpour/rain increases, the number of birds flying in the sky decreases." Not sure what's the best way to say "as the rain increases" though. A quick scan through jisho.org seems like 雨が降り募る is a good option. Do you reckon that works? — wireman, Apr 26 '20 at 9:59

Ringil · Accepted Answer · 2020-04-26 14:17:05Z

No, they don't have to be the same. You can easily use this to describe inverse relationships.

For example you could say things like:

晴れの日が増えるにつれて、鬱病患者が減っていく。( As the number of sunny days increases, the number of people with depression decreases)

Here are some more examples:

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