Uttarakhand’s so-called Forest Fire Season- which usually starts from mid-February and goes on to mid-June - began as early as October 15, 2020 this time and is currently still active.
Till April 4, 2021, 989 forest fire incidents were reported & 1297 hectares of forest cover were estimated to be burnt down, as per the Forest Department figures.
The state has sought help from the center to get two Mi-17 helicopters deployed. The locals are worried this year would be even worse than 2016 because these fires are already bad and yet to peak.
What happened in 2016?
Forest fires surged 30% in 2016 (20667 vs. 15937 incidents) over 2015. 4433 hectares of land was ravaged by the forest fires.
As per the Dehradun Meteorological Centre, the temperature recorded during this time was 7 degrees higher than the usual.
On April 26, 2016, forest fires were reported from 1200 places. Two of Indian Air Force’s Mi-17 helicopters were used to douse the fire.
Main factors behind these fires
Fuel load: Dry leaves & pine needles are highly inflammable and hence, act as fuel. Usually cleared/collected by locals, such fuel has accumulated more due to the lockdown this year
Scarce rainfall: Uttarakhand received only 10.9 mm of rainfall from Jan-March 2021 as against the average of 54.9 mm for the same period. The topography makes rainwater accumulation difficult
Temperatures: Rising temperatures cause the soil to lose its moisture
Climate change, contributing to rising temperatures and soil dryness, is not the only cause of forest fires:
Man-made Fires: Stubble burning adjacent to forests sometimes leads to uncontrollable fires. Locals also light these fires for subsequent growth of good quality grass or to cover up illegal cutting of trees
Not a priority for policymakers: You would think that we would be better prepared for an annual occurrence but no, India’s National Disaster Management Authority does not even recognize forest fires as natural hazards
What is the effect?
Carbon emission and global warming: Uttarakhand forest fires emitted 0.2 mega tonnes of carbon in March. This creates a vicious cycle. More carbon means more global warming and hence, more such fires. This also melts glaciers faster leading to frequent flooding and soil erosion
Forest fires also lead to loss of timber resources and a disruption of wildlife habitat. According to the Forest Fire Disaster Management report, the economic loss of forest fires is estimated to be about Rs. 90,000 per hectare per annum
Not to mention, of course, the loss of human life and degrading quality of life due to the resulting poor air quality
Monitoring forest fires
Forest Survey of India monitors forest fire events through satellites on two platforms, in collaboration with NASA & ISRO, that help to identify, alert and track fire incidents on real time data.
SNPP-VIIRS works in the range of 375x375 sq meter pixel
MODIS works in the range of 1kmx1km
Fire lines, a passage cleared of vegetation and combustibles, can help to control forest fires. Sometimes a counter fire is also used to extinguish a wildfire.
What more can be done?
Facilities should be set up to recharge the groundwater and maintain moisture in the soil. Many also believe that it is in the interest of the Forest Management to include & incentivise the local communities to further this cause as first responders
The Forest Act of 1988 dissociated the local community from the forest causing them to feel an absence of a sense of belongingness. This has created a serious trust deficit between the local communities and the forest administrations making them complacent to this cause
The forest administrations need to really mobilise resources to be better prepared to monitor & tackle these frequent occurrences of Forest Fires
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