Climate change and Uttarakhand forest fires: For now, heavy rains help cool temperatures

Tribune Web Desk

Vibha Sharma

Chandigarh, May 9

According to ground reports, five persons lost their lives and as much as 1,300 hectares of land was affected in the hill state of Uttarakhand in recent forest fires.

Senior forest official Dhananjai Mohan, who said that fire was now “under control”, was quoted as saying that “so far 388 cases have been registered in forest fires and 60 cases have been named. Five persons have lost their lives, four in Almora and one in Pauri”.

Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami also reviewed measures being taken to prevent forest fires and preparations for the upcoming monsoon season. 

Meanwhile, the forest department has taken action against personnel allegedly found negligent in preventing fires, as per reports.

Forest fires—climate change

Forest fires are uncontrolled and widespread burning of plants and trees in forests. They may start due to natural reasons like lightning-strike or manmade like human carelessness.

As per experts, human-induced climate change, inefficient forest and land management and rapid land-use change are the key reasons for these incidents. “Increasing temperatures due to global warming, higher temperatures, lack of rains and resulting dry landscapes create conducive conditions for forest fires,” they add.

Apart from widespread damage to forests, forest fires have major environmental and social impacts. They affect the quality of air, rivers and soil and in turn livelihood and economy of the affected regions.

The reason for the recent fires is said to be prolonged dry spell in the state, especially in April.

“The effects of climate change are intensifying year by year. Over the years, forest fires have increased, including in Uttarakhand. The lack of moisture and high temperatures in the month of April added fuel to the fire,” experts say.

February to June is usually the time when such incidents are reported

Chir pines and human responsibility

A fact also is that the most common type of forest fires in Uttarakhand are the ground fires fuelled by fallen pine needles of Chir trees. Chir is responsible for the majority of green cover in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand and also a reason for forest fires, say officials

“Pine needles shed by Chir catch fire easily. Because of its thick bark, Chir tree is also resilient against ground fires and grows better. In a way, it is a vicious cycle,” they add   

Over the years, forest fires have increased, including in Uttarakhand which is said to account for a big number in the country.

However, many fires in Uttarakhand jungles are also initiated by human activities.

“Accumulation of pine needles on the forest floor during summer months makes the situation more prone. While some combustion is necessary for a forest to clear and regenerate, many forest fires are also caused by people clearing land for agriculture or because of a carelessly dropped cigarette or ‘beedi’,” say officials

Rain not the only answer

Besides causing havoc, heavy rains on Wednesday night helped cool temperatures and curb forest fires in some parts of the hill state, as per reports

Notably, the Supreme Court, while expressing concern over the Uttarakhand forest fires on Wednesday, added that depending on the rain god was not the solution for controlling forest fires in the state and asked the authorities to take preventive measures to deal with the situation

The Uttarakhand government told the apex court that 398 forest fires were reported in the state since last November and all of them were man-made.

A cloudburst in Someshwar in Almora district caused the destruction of crops with farmers suffering losses. In some parts of the Kumaon region, under which the Almora district falls, the rainfall led to forest fires being extinguished, as per ground reports.

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#Climate change #Environment #Uttarakhand