Himalayas on fire: Himachal’s tinder-dry forests, on its brown snowless hills, burn due to low moisture

Himachal’s white snow-clad forests and peaks are a bright orange this winter. The tinder-dry forests are burning because of a lack of precipitation. The number of such fires has increased seven times this winter, compared to last year, official data shows.

There have been 2,050 incidents of forest fires between October 16, 2023 and January 16, 2024, according to data from the Forest Survey of India (FSI). There were just 296 incidents of forest fires during the same period last year.

The incidents have been reported from all districts of the state, with major fires in Kinnaur, Manali, Kullu, Chamba and Shimla in the last three weeks. Thousands of hectares of forests as well as dozens of houses have been burnt to the ground in these fires.

Himachal also ranked among the top five Indian states where major incidents of forests fires were reported in the last one week, according to the FSI. It reported 36 such incidents. The state had reported 123 major fire incidents during the winter of 2022-2023. Uttarakhand was second, Andhra Pradesh third and jammu and Kashmir fourth.

Uttarakhand and Himachal, two of India’s Himalayan states, ranked first and second among states where most fire alerts had been sounded in 2023-2024.

There were 369 incidents of fire in Himachal during December 2023, 275 of which were forest fires, according to the Fire Safety Department of the state government.

These fires caused damages to the tune of Rs 10 crore. The department’s proactive approach helped in preventing losses to the tune of Rs 177 crore. There were 149 incidents of fires between January 1 and 12 in the state.

The state has undergone a long dry spell in the past three months, with no rainfall or snowfall. There has been a 100 per cent rainfall deficit in January, according to the meteorological department. The number of fire incidents is expected to increase in the coming weeks, given the lack of precipitation.

Eight of 12 Himachal districts are considered fire-prone. The state’s forest fire season usually lasts from the second week of April till June. But this year, there have been more incidents during the winter.

Some 15 per cent of Himachal’s 37,033 square kilometres of forest area is covered with chir pine, an extremely fire-prone and flammable type of tree. The state forest department has 2,026 beats, of which 339 are extremely sensitive. There are also 667 moderately sensitive and 1,020 sensitive beats.

Pawan Rana, a scientist with the Himalayan Forest Research Institute Shimla, told this reporter that forest fires have a damaging impact on forest biodiversity and soil. He said the lack of precipation had made the forests of the state bone-dry. There is a need to be ready as the occurrence of such incidents will only increase in the future.

“It is surreal as one can see smoke plumes everywhere. This may be a common sight in the plains during the stubble burning season in autumn. But seeing this in the mountains at this time is a completely new experience for me,” Amit Rathore, a Shimla resident, told this reporter.

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