Tropical forests totalling size of India at risk of being cleared, study warns

Washington-based Center for Global Development predicts 289m hectares (714m acres) of tropical forests will be felled by 2050 based on current trends

Tropical forests covering an area nearly the size of India are set to be destroyed in the next 35 years, a faster rate of deforestation than previously thought, a study warned on Monday.

The Washington-based Center for Global Development, using satellite imagery and data from 100 countries, predicted 289m hectares (714m acres) of tropical forests would be felled by 2050, with dangerous implications for accelerating climate change, the study said.