India’s Green Cover Rises To Quarter Of Geographical Area

NEW DELHI (WAM) – India’s forest and tree cover now spans 25.17% of the country’s total geographical area, or 827,357 sq km. Of this, 21.76% is forest cover, while 3.41% is tree cover. The latest “India State of Forest Report” reveals an increase of 1,445 sq km in forest and tree cover since the previous report two years ago.

This growth has contributed to India’s carbon stock, which now stands at 30.43 billion tons of CO2 equivalent, supporting the country’s climate resilience efforts. The report also notes that India has already exceeded its 2030 target of adding 2.5 billion tons of carbon sink, reaching 2.29 billion tons so far.

The total carbon stock in India’s forests is now 7,285.5 million tons, marking an increase of 81.5 million tons since the last assessment. This progress supports India’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Climate Agreement, aimed at limiting global temperature rise to 1.5°C.

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