As per the Report by the World Resources Institute (WRI),last month. the primary forest loss globally was 12% higher in 2020 compared to 2019 and the resulting carbon emissions from this are equivalent to the annual emissions of 570 million cars, or more than double their number on the US roads.

As much as 12.2 million ha tree cover was lost in 2020, which included 4.2 million ha, or an area equal to the Netherlands, from tropical primary rainforests.

Tree cover can refer to trees in plantations as well as natural forests. Tree cover loss is the removal of tree canopy due to human or natural causes, including fire. 

Brazil topped the list of countries with the highest primary forest loss—1.7 million ha in 2020. It was over three times the loss in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which recorded the second-highest loss. 

India also lost a larger area under tree cover in humid primary forests in 2020 (20.8 kilo hectares) compared to 17.3 kha in 2019. From 2002 to 2020, India lost 349 kilo hectares of humid primary forest, making up 19% of its total tree cover loss in the same time period. The total area of humid primary forest in India decreased by 3.4% during this period.