India has planted almost 50 million trees in one day

The Indian people have broken a world record by planting almost 50 million trees in a 24-hour period.

Earlier this year, at the Paris Climate Change Conference, representatives of the country said they plan to increase national forest cover to 235 million acres. 

The initiative saw 800,000 people, ranging from students and housewives to government officials, plant 49.3 million tree saplings, consisting of 80 different species of trees.  The saplings came from 950 different nurseries around the state of Uttar Pradesh, where the planting took place.

The previous mass-planting record was held by Pakistan and saw 847,275 trees planted at once in 2013.

Ahmedabad, India on February 6, 2015. Kunal Mehta/Shutterstock

 

The Indian government is investing $6.2 billion in the initiative to cover the country with forests.

“The world has realized that serious efforts are needed to reduce carbon emissions to mitigate the effects of global climate change,” Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav told volunteers at the event, Associated Press reports.

 

 

Image Credit: Rajesh CKumar Singh AP/Press Association Images