Delhi air quality dips to 'very poor' category; Donald Trump's comment raises concerns about climate change in India

PTI photo

NEW DELHI: Air quality deteriorated further with the rise of pollutants in the national capital on Friday (October 23) morning and is likely to worsen in the coming days. The Air Quality Index (AQI) on Friday morning was recorded at 387 in Anand Vihar, 333 in RK Puram, 391 in Rohini, and 390 in Dwarka, all four in the 'very poor' category, as per Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) data.

The air quality in the neighbouring cities of the national capital — Faridabad, Gautam Buddh Nagar and Ghaziabad was also no better as there too, it remained in 'very poor' category. However, according to a government agency, it was relatively better in Gurgaon. In Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad, the AQI was recorded at 360 while in Noida-Greater Noida it was at 390. A thick haze has engulfed the national capital causing much inconvenience to the residents. 

The alarming rate of pollution in Delhi-NCR for almost a fortnight has also caught the attention of United States President Donald Trump, who went on to accuse the country of taking no action on climate change. 

On October 22, during a presidential debate with his Democratic challenger Joe Biden in Nashville, Trump accused China, India and Russia of not taking care of their filthy air as he justified America's withdrawal from the 'unfair' Paris climate agreement. "Look at China, how filthy it is. Look at Russia. Look at India, it's filthy. The air is filthy," Trump said.

He has repeatedly blamed countries like India and China for not doing enough on climate change, labelling them as regions with air that is impossible to breathe.

Trump has continuously argued that countries like China and India are benefiting the most from the Paris agreement.

Speaking to his cheering supporters at an election rally in the key battleground State of North Carolina last week, Trump had blamed countries like China, Russia and India for adding to the global air pollution. "We have the best environmental numbers, ozone numbers, and so many other numbers. In the meantime, China, Russia, India all these countries they're spewing stuff into the air," he alleged.

China is the world's biggest carbon emitter followed by the US, India and the EU.