India is a global leader in making earth greener - says NASA's new study

Source: earthobservatory.nasa.gov

India and China are the top two countries which have shown a significant increase in forest cover in the last 20 years, according to a new study of NASA. Surprisingly, the two countries contribute to almost one-third of the entire green cover while they only have less than one-tenth of the total land area. 

The general perception across the globe is that the most populous countries tend to exploit most of the natural resources. But this recent study of NASA reveals that the forest cover across the planet has increased and the two most populous countries are the main contributors to this. NASA attributes this positive impact to the agricultural intense practices in these two regions since 2000. 

Source: earthobservatory.nasa.gov 

However, the study only provides data for increase in forest cover on a global scale and not the overall greenery of any particular region. For instance, the densely covered forest area of Amazon basin hasn't seen such a significant increase, although it has one of the most dense vegetation on planet.

The study was based on 20 year data records which used the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer. The study also reveals that about 82 percent of greening has happened due to intensive cultivation of food crops, higher production of grains and horticulture products and several other factors.