Smoke chokes Solan city as forest fires rage

Smoke billowing from forest fires filled the air in Solan city on Friday, creating suffocation. The impact was particularly visible in places like Shamlech where smoke from smouldering pine needles spread several kilometres. The scenario was equally appalling at Basal where smoke from a fire on nearby hills choked the air. “A visible smokescreen was found looming over the city even in early hours, indicating the extent of air pollution caused by forest fires,” said Vivek Sharma, a local resident.

He said that numerous forest fires blazing in the hills around Solan for the past few days had led to a visible increase in the temperature, making the climate in the city warmer than usual. The unhealthy smoke created a choking sensation, as the dry and warm air made breathing difficult. “Patients suffering from breathing ailments like asthma faced challenging times. Though such patients preferred to stay indoors to avoid exposure, which triggers an asthma attack, it had little impact as a thick film of smoke engulfed the city,” said Rajesh, an asthma patient.

“Forest fires release carbon monoxide and particulate matter into the air, which when inhaled irritate the respiratory system and prevent smooth absorption of oxygen into the bloodstream,” opined health experts. With heaps of pine needles laced with inflammable resin strewn on the forest floor, a callously left lit cigarette butt or a deliberate fire ignited by villagers is enough to transform the area into a tinder box. Once set ablaze, a forest fire takes tremendous efforts to be contained as pine needles keep simmering for hours, causing volumes of unhealthy smoke.

Santosh Sharma, Commandant, Home Guards, Solan, said that the firefighters had been on their toes since the past one week as big and small forest fires had been reported in Dharampur, Sanawar and various other places in Solan.