US President Donald Trump’s description of India as a dirty place with polluted air has sparked calls on social media for urgent clean-up actions, particularly in New Delhi, the world’s most polluted capital.
In defense of clean air in America, Trump made the comment during his final debate Thursday with his Democratic rival Joe Biden ahead of the November 3 presidential election, saying, “Look at India. It’s disgusting. The air is dirty. “
On Friday, air pollution in New Delhi and surrounding cities was the worst in eight months, with the air quality index rising above 300 on a scale of 500, indicating “emergency conditions.”
Trump referred to India to defend his decision to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement, an environmental expert said.
“Trump’s comment on Indian air in the context of his justification for withdrawing from the Paris pact is regrettable and youthful,” said Vimlendu Jha, founder of an activist group, Swechha.
“The United States is historically the largest emitter in the world and currently the second largest,” he added.
Trump was right, said Kapil Mishra, a member of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
“Trump is right,” Mishra said on Twitter. “Our air quality is really dirty. In Delhi, we are breathing poison. It’s time for all of us to come together and face the real reasons. “
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Modi’s Hindu nationalist party is not in power in New Delhi, which is ruled by the liberal Aam Aadmi (Common Man) party, whose officials have often argued with BJP officials for blaming poor air quality in New Delhi. .
In a 2017 interview with Reuters, Trump complained that China, India, Russia and other countries were paying too little to help the poorest countries fight climate change under the Green Climate Fund of the Paris Agreement. .
“It is not a fair situation because they are paying practically nothing and we are paying huge amounts of money,” he said at the time.
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