Daily US Times: Indians have reacted to US President Donald Trump describing the air in India as’ filthy’ in a presidential debate on Thursday night.
His remarks drew both introspection and anger, with some Indians asking Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take notice.
Others agreed that capital Delhi’s air was among the most worst in the world.
The city’s air quality has turned “severe” in recent weeks, with residents complaining of breathing difficulties.
India’s dreaded pollution season has returned as levels of PM2.5 in the capital have averaged around 180-300 micrograms per cubic metre in recent weeks, 12 times higher than the WHO’s safe limits.
President Trump is heard of saying in the debate: “Look at China, how filthy it is. Look at Russia. Look at India. It’s filthy. The air is filthy. I walked out of the Paris Accord as we had to take out trillions of dollars and we were treated very unfairly.” The US President was talking about the decision to pull out of the Paris Climate Accord.
While his comments about China may not be strictly true, but his remarks have resonated with many in India.
The air in several cities in northern part of India is especially bad in winter months – November to February – when several factors, such as farmers burning crop stubble to clear their fields, festive fireworks and low wind speed, vehicular and industrial pollution contribute to what doctors calls is a “deadly cocktail of poisonous gases”. Few concrete steps have been taken to control the air pollution despite the spikes in air pollution year after year.
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