The United States has officially halted US Air Quality Monitoring Program at embassies, US state department announced.
The US State Department confirmed on Tuesday that it would no longer provide real-time air quality update, for “budget limitations”, implemented under Trump’s international funding cut.
This announcement comes after the Trump administration implemented significant budget cuts which effected a number of foreign and environmental initiatives.
A representative for the US State Department said, “Unfortunately, we are no longer able to continue publishing this data due to the current financial situation, which has forced us to make difficult reductions.”
The Environmental Protection Agency’s website will still provide access to earlier records, but real-time monitoring will not resume until more funding is secured, spokesperson added.
Since 2008, the US embassy air monitoring program has been a valuable tool for publishing real time pollution data, particularly in cities like Beijing and New Delhi.
Prior to summit 2014, authorities in China had previously prohibited the publication of US embassy air quality data. Reports indicating pollution levels higher than official Chinese statistics frequently prompted more government action, hence the program had a significant influence. Similarly, the US embassy’s pollution tracking was a crucial point of reference in India, one of the most polluted nations in the world.
Notably, since taking office again in January, Trump has cut funding for a number of international programs, such as the US Agency for International Development (USAID), and retracted climate measures that former President Joe Biden had put in place. Now the US Air Quality Monitoring Program is also halted under this initiative.
