BEIJING -- China's vegetation coverage increased steadily over the past two decades while the ecoclimate of key regions continued to improve, according to an official blue paper released on Wednesday.

From 2000 to 2020, the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), a key indicator of green coverage in China, reported significant increase, said the blue paper issued by the China Meteorological Administration.

Compared with the level from 2000 to 2019, the NDVI rose 6 percent from 2016 to 2020, marking the best five years of vegetation coverage since 2000, according to the paper.

The ecological climate in key areas saw steady improvements, the blue paper noted.

From 2005 to 2020, desert areas of Shiyang River Basin in northwest China shrank, while the extension of the desert generally slowed down.

For stony desert areas of Guangxi, the autumn vegetation index showed a significant increasing trend from 2000 to 2020, and the regional ecological situation displayed a tendency to improve.