Forest fires ravage J&K’s green cover: over 3,800 incidents in 8 just months

Climate change, human interferences drive surge in forest incidents in UT; surprise spike in Ladakh

Jammu, December 12: The green cover of Jammu and Kashmir continues to face an alarming threat from forest fires, with nearly 50 percent of approximately 8,000 incidents recorded over the past three years occurring between November 2023 and June 2024.
According to official sources, the Forest Survey of India (FSI) has identified a total of 8,215 forest fires during the last three years using SNPP-VIIRS sensors. These include large-scale, continuous, and repeated incidents.
Disturbingly, 3,829 forest fires were reported in just the last eight months (November 2023 and June 2024). “Between November 2018 and June 2019, as many as 661 fire detections were recorded, while this number dropped to 438 from November 2019 to June 2020. However, the frequency has surged significantly since, with 1,098 fires reported from November 2020 to June 2021, escalating to 4,282 between November 2021 and June 2022,” sources said.
The trend saw a temporary dip, with only 131 fires recorded from November 2022 to June 2023. Yet, this figure again skyrocketed to 3,829 incidents in the corresponding period last year, attributed largely to prolonged dry spells during March and April, which fueled widespread forest fires.
“The continuous dry spell mostly in the month of March and April across Jammu and Kashmir flared massive forest fires. The data showed that there had been more than 100 forest fires in the UT in just 15 days of these months,” sources said.
Interestingly, even Ladakh, known as the country’s cold desert, experienced 32 forest fire incidents between November 2023 and June 2024, compared to just 20 in the previous year.
A senior forest department official, however, explained that forest fires are often triggered by a combination of natural and human-induced factors, including the accumulation of dry leaves, twigs, and pine needles on the forest floor. “Persistent hotter and drier weather, exacerbated by climate change, has heightened the risk of such fires,” the official said.
The official claimed that “preventive measures are in place, with divisional forest officers (DFOs) directed to strictly implement action plans aimed at minimizing the loss of forest wealth during fire incidents”.
Pertinently, Jammu and Kashmir’s forests account for 39.15 percent of its total geographical area of 2.22 lakh hectares, while Ladakh has a sparse forest cover of just 1.35 percent. Approximately 59 percent of the forest area in these regions is under permanent snow, glaciers, or cold desert conditions, making tree growth impractical.
In response to the growing threat, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change, in collaboration with the World Bank, conducted a study titled “Strengthening Forest Fire Management in India.” This report provides recommendations for forest fire prevention, detection, suppression, and post-fire management.
The Ministry, along with the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), has also trained three NDRF battalions comprising 150 personnel to tackle large-scale forest fires, deploying them as needed across the country.

Updated On 12/13/2024 12:33:57 AM