India, Feb. 7 -- Wetlands in West Bengal's Murshidabad district are disappearing at an average rate of 2.1 per cent per year - about one-and-a-half times higher than India's national average and almost three times the global average, according to a new study.

The paper examined 14 major wetlands in the district and found a loss of two-thirds of the wetland area over 35 years. The combined area of these wetlands had declined sharply to 1,700.2 hectares (ha) in 2025, from 5,524.7 ha in 1990.

The study, conducted by Subhasis Das of Raja Narendralal Khan Women's College (Autonomous) under Vidyasagar University, along with Pravat Kumar Shit, Assistant Professor of Geography, was based on satellite image analysis from 1990 to 2025, and was su...