NASA confirm that our planet is actually greener today than it was 20 years ago
In good news for our planet, NASA have confirmed that Earth is greener than it was 20 years ago.
Over the past two decades, NASA has been closely monitoring the Earth's foliage using two satellites and found that China and India are the two countries to thank for the boost in greenery. This stems mainly from China's ambitious tree planting projects, as well as intensive agriculture across both countries.
The research also shows that there are now more than two million square miles of extra green leaf area per year, compared to the early 2000s which reveals a 5% increase.
“China and India account for one-third of the greening, but contain only 9% of the planet’s land area covered in vegetation – a surprising finding, considering the general notion of land degradation in populous countries from overexploitation,” said Chi Chen of the Department of Earth and Environment at Boston University, in Massachusetts in NASA's new study.
NASA first believed that the increase in the Earth's greenery was down to climate change, but after intensive research, found that it was largely down to humans.
With the increase in plastic pollution and worrying change in our climate, it's not often that we think of our planet as becoming a place that's greener than it was two decades ago. But this new study shows that doing our part will be sure to help the environment.
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