Dr Mandeep Singh Azad and
Dr Manmeet Motan
Amid soaring temperatures, Jammu and Kashmir Disaster Management Authority forecasted of ‘extreme forest fire’ risk in next few days across the Himalayan region. “Extreme forest fire risk is likely to occur over forest areas in next few days. People are requested to report the incident (if any) on 112 for prompt response. Overall, no significant weather activity is expected till May 31,” a MeT official earlier in the day said. Although wildfires are a natural occurrence within some forest ecosystems, fire seasons are becoming more extreme and widespread, even in tropical rainforests where fires are atypical and particularly damaging.
Forest fire is any uncontrolled and unpredictable burning of plants naturally, such as a forest or grassland, that consumes natural fuels and spreads due to environmental conditions like wind and topography. Forest fires are the most common incident in forests. Fuels are any flammable material in the surrounding, which also include trees, grasses, or forest waste. The greater the forest area’s fuel capacity, the stronger and more spread the fire. Sources of heat help ignite a fire; these make temperatures hot enough to ignite the fuel around the surrounding.
During summers, when the forests dry out because of no rains over months, the forests get littered with all the dry waste it produces in the form of leaves and twinges, which burst into unstoppable fires spreading across huge areas, ignited by the slightest of spark. It has been demonstrated that one of the primary causes of forest fires is the practice of farmers burning stubble, which refers to the rooted stems left in the field after crop harvesting. Stubble burning has numerous adverse impacts on agriculture, the environment, the economy, and human health. What initially began as an innocuous practice by farmers can result in uncontrolled forest fires due to carelessness and strong winds. Stubble fires are more likely to escalate into wildfires in dry farming areas.
Forest fires are a regular phenomenon in our country often observed during summers. A number of 52,785 forest fires were detected using MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectro-radiometer) sensor and 3,45,989 forest fires were detected using SNPP-VIIRS (Suomi-National Polar-orbiting Partnership – Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) in forest fire season from Nov 2020 to June 2021. Severe fires occur in many forest types particularly dry deciduous forest, while evergreen, semi-evergreen and montane temperate forests are comparatively less prone (ISFR 2015). More than 36 percent of the country’s forest cover has been estimated to be prone to frequent forest fires.
Nearly 4 percent of the country’s forest cover is extremely prone to fire, whereas 6 percent of forest cover is found to be very highly fire prone (ISFR 2019). Every year large areas of forests are affected by fires of varying intensity and extent. Based on the forest inventory records, 54.40 percent of forests in India are exposed to occasional fires, 7.49 percent to moderately frequent fires and 2.40 percent to high incidence levels while 35.71 percent of India’s forests have not yet been exposed to fires of any real significance. Precious forest resources including carbon locked in the biomass is lost due to forest fires every year, which adversely impact the flow of goods and services from forests. Satellite based remote sensing technology and GIS tools have been effective in better prevention and management of fires through creation of early warning for fire prone areas, monitoring fires on real time basis and estimation of burnt scars. Nearly 1,156 forest fires were reported from India between 13 and 20 February 2023, according to NASA’s Fire Information for Resource Management site. This year’s early start to the forest fire season coincides with a spike in daytime temperatures that is nearly 5-9 degrees Celsius above normal across India. India has pledged to create enough forest and tree cover to absorb 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide by 2030. It has also pledged to restore 26 million hectares of degraded forests by the same year – promises that are unlikely to be fulfilled unless forest fires are better managed.
Forest fires are common in sub-tropical forests of the Jammu region, whereas their intensity and frequency in Kashmir Region is low. However, with global changes in climate taking place, factors such as low and irregular winter precipita on dry autumn and spring seasons create an environment conducive for the forest fires to take place. The Jammu and Kashmir Forest Department has the recorded forest area of 20,230 kms. About 59% of the geographical area of the State is under permanent snow cover, glaciers and cold desert and unable to support tree growth. Forests of J&K exhibit remarkable diversity ranging from sub-tropical to temperate to alpine because of the distinctive geo-climatic conditions prevalent in the State.
In the state, the main causes of Forest-Fires can be broadly classified under following three categories:
(a) Through Human Interference: About 90 percent of fires are caused by local people intentionally with following objectives: –
* To clean the forest floor to get good growth of grasses for Fodder/grazing in the following season
* Burning of the undergrowth and grass to collect MFP.
* To clear undergrowth with the ultimate aim of cultivating/encroaching the forest area.
* Charring the stumps to destroy evidence of illicit felling.
* Scaring away wild animals from near villages.
(b) Un-Intentional: These fires are caused due to carelessness for example:
* Un-extinguished camp fires of trekkers, nomadic graziers and labourers/tourists.
* Sparks from transmission lines and power transformers.
* Careless throwing of torchwood, un-extinguished cigarettes, matchsticks.
* Burning of agricultural fields adjacent to forests.
* Accidental spread of fire in the forest during control burning due to negligence of staff.
(c) Natural: Natural fires are extremely rare. They may occur due to
* Lightning
* Rolling stones
* Rubbing of branches.
Mitigation measures
The above-mentioned deadliest forest fire stats show that a lot of forest fires are caused by humans. For this governments across the world have started well-coordinated and integrated fire management programs that include –
* Prevention of human caused fires by education and environmental modification.
* More emphasis on people participation through joint forest fire management
* Prompt detection of forest fires through ground patrolling, and well-coordinated observation points
* Remote sensing technology for fire detection
* Ensuring easy and timely availability of firefighting resources
It is high time that we realised the importance of planet and all the organisms living in it. We should mend our ways and take measures to protect the environment and their livelihoods. These forest fires can be averted from happening by being cautious and following the right measures.
(The authors are Scientist
at SKUAST-Jammu and SDM Dudu)
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