A record set and held by India may have just been shattered by Ethiopia who planted 353,633,660 tree saplings in twelve hours.
Ethiopia – In 2016, India planted 50 million trees in 24 hours they then stepped up their efforts and planted 66 million trees in 12 hours, committing to having 5-million hectares of new trees in India. India is currently the third-largest generator of carbon emissions in the world. Having more tree will significantly combat it.
Hot on their heels is Ethiopia, who recently planted over 350 million trees in a single day. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed wants to leave a “Green Legacy” behind once he leaves office, so he planned the event in honour of his initiative to restore natural greenery to the nation.
While no official count is being done by the Guinness Book of Records, many took to social media to share the happy news as well as images of the trees being planted.
#GreenLegacy #አረንጓዴአሻራ pic.twitter.com/wNWRGuj6fF
— Office of the Prime Minister – Ethiopia (@PMEthiopia) July 29, 2019
PM Abiy calls upon everyone in #Ethiopia to go out and #PlantYourPrint. #PMOEthiopia pic.twitter.com/leQdUBv849
— Office of the Prime Minister – Ethiopia (@PMEthiopia) July 29, 2019
Even though India may have lost their unofficial record to Ethiopia, nobody loses. In fact, the planet wins every time a tree is planted, so we say, the more, the merrier!