SINGAPORE, Oct 10 (Reuters) - The global coal industry may have to shed nearly 1 million jobs by 2050, even without any further pledges to phase out fossil fuels, with China and India facing the biggest losses, research showed on Tuesday.

Hundreds of labour-intensive mines are expected to close in the coming decades as they reach the end of their lifespans and countries replace coal with cleaner low-carbon energy sources.

But most of the mines likely to shut down "have no planning underway to extend the life of those operations or to manage a transition to a post-coal economy," U.S.-based think tank Global Energy Monitor (GEM) warned.

Dorothy Mei, project manager for GEM's Global Coal Mine Tracker, said governments needed to make plans to ensure workers do not suffer from the energy transition.

GEM looked at 4,300 active and proposed coal mine projects around the world covering a total workforce of nearly 2.7 million.

China's coal sector has already undergone several waves of restructuring in recent decades, with many mining districts in the north and northeast struggling to find alternative sources of growth and employment following pit closures.

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