The reported loss of 5.6 percentage points in green cover across India in a quarter century should come as no surprise, given the pressures mounted on land for building activity and resource extraction. As the study by Climate Trends, using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) land cover data and temperature trends from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, indicates, despite losses, green areas persist in the Western Ghats and the Northeast, but urban areas sprawling into neighbouring districts are a distinct feature.

It is important to underscore the long-term impact of lost green cover, since the study has correlated this with a rise in summer temperatures in non-green areas. There appears to be an unimpeachable link between the two natural states of the terrain.........

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