Forest Fires in India and its Impact

Highlights of the report

  • Occurrence of forest fires and their impact: Forest fires occur in around half of the country’s 647 districts every year. Central India has the largest area affected by fire. North-East accounts for 56% of burnt forest land during 2003-2016, followed by southern states and the North-East. However, North-eastern states account for the biggest share of fire detections, with at least 55% of fire incidents reported during 2003-2016.
  • Concerns: With at least one in four people dependent on forests for their livelihood, India is losing at least ₹1,100 crore due to forest fires every year, says a new World Bank report. The report calls for a national plan for the prevention of forest fire. Repeated fires in short succession are reducing diversity of species and harming natural regeneration, while posing a risk to over 92 million in India who live in areas of forest cover.

Forest fires in India

  • India, which saw a 46 per cent increase in the number of forest fires in the last 16 years (2003-17), witnessed a 125 per cent spike (from 15,937 to 35,888) in such fires in just two years (2015 to 2017).
  • In 2017, the maximum number of forest fires were reported in Madhya Pradesh (4,781) followed by Odisha (4,416) and Chhattisgarh (4,373).
  • 23 out of 33 states and union territories reported an increase in forest fires. In Punjab, such incidents of fire increased sevenfold followed by Haryana and Rajasthan which saw four and three times a jump in numbers.
  • 64.29 per cent of the Recorded Forest Area (RFA) is prone to fires.
  • Most of the forest fires between 2003 and 2016 have occurred in open forests followed by moderately dense forests.
  • India loses around Rs 550 crore every year owing to damages caused by forest fires.
  • Large amount of money allocated for the forest management kept unspent in the coffers.

Vulnerability of forest fire in Himalayas

  • The youngest mountain ranges of Himalayas are the most vulnerable stretches of the world susceptible to forest fires.
  • The forests of Western are more frequently vulnerable to forest fires as compared to those in Eastern Himalayas.
  • This is because forests of Eastern Himalayas grow in high rain density.
  • With large scale expansion of chirr (Pine) forests in many areas of the Himalayas the frequency and intensity of forest fires has increased.

Causes of forest fire

  • Forest fires are caused by natural causes as well as man-made causes:
    • Natural causes- Many forest fires start from natural causes such as lightning which set trees on fire. However, rain extinguishes such fires without causing much damage. High atmospheric temperatures and dryness (low humidity) offer favourable circumstance for a fire to start.
    • Man-made causes- Fire is caused when a source of fire like naked flame, cigarette or bidi, electric spark or any source of ignition comes into contact with inflammable material.

Location: Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India

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