Google website to track global deforestation in real-time

Global Forest Watch uses technologies including Google Earth Engine and Google Maps Engine to map the world's forests with satellite imagery, detect changes in forest cover in near-real-time, and make this information freely available to anyone with Internet access.

By accessing the most current and reliable information, everyone can learn what's happening in forests around the world.

According to data from the University of Maryland and Google, the world lost more than 500 million acres of forest between 2000 and 2012, a report in the blog said.

That's the equivalent of losing 50 soccer fields' worth of forests every minute of every day for the past 13 years.

By contrast, only 0.8 million square km have regrown, been planted, or restored during the same period, according to the blog.