It seems that this year the smog season has already started. The air quality of Delhi NCR is fast deteriorating due to which it's becoming increasingly difficult for people to go out of their houses. Usually, the smog season starts around the Diwali festival. But this year the air quality index (AQI) has already crossed the alarming mark.
While Ghaziabad recorded the air quality index at 360, in Noida-Greater Noida the air quality index already crossed the 390 mark on Friday morning. The AQI of Delhi was 365 at 8 am on Friday.
This comes in the wake of US President Donald Trump's comment calling India's air filthy. Recently In the climate change segment of the final US presidential debate on Thursday, President Donald Trump had once again commented that India’s air was 'filthy'. 'Look at China, how filthy it is. Look at Russia, look at India - it’s filthy. The air is filthy,' he said during the debate with his Democratic rival Joe Biden in Nashville, Tennessee.
Responding to a question on climate change President Trump said, 'I walked out of the Paris Accord as we had to take out trillions of dollars and we were treated very unfairly.' Trump had pulled the US out of the 2015 Paris climate agreement, saying the international deal to keep global temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius was disadvantageous to US workers.
Trump had made a similar remark during the first debate on 29nd September when he bracketed India with China and Russia and said these countries contribute to global pollution. 'China sends up real dirt into the air. Russia does, India does - they all do,' he had said.
Trump’s latest statement was in response to debate moderator Kristen Welker’s question on how he would combat climate change and support job growth simultaneously. He made the statement while claiming that the US has the 'lowest number in carbon emissions'.
Trump has repeatedly blamed countries like India and China for not doing enough on climate change, labeling them as regions with air that is impossible to breathe.
An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered 'good', 51 and 100 'satisfactory', 101 and 200 'moderate', 201 and 300 'poor', 301 and 400 'very poor', and 401 and 500 'severe'.