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Wildfires In Himachal Pradesh

  • May 1, 2022
  • Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
  • Category: DPN Topics
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Wildfires In Himachal Pradesh

Subject: Environment

Section: Pollution

Context- The prolonged dry spell coupled with unusually high temperatures in recent days has triggered many wildfires in Himachal Pradesh, destroying several hectares of forest cover across many parts of the hill State.

Concept-

  • Till April 28 this year, as many as 719 incidents of forest fires have been reported across the State, affecting close to 5,662 hectares under forest circles of Shimla, Chamba, Bilaspur, Dharamshala, Hamirpur, Kullu Mandi, Rampur, Nahan and the Great Himalayan National Park at Shamshi in the Kullu region.
  • The early onset of summer this year in the hills posed a major challenge to the State government’s efforts to control forest fires and with dry weather conditions and high temperatures expected to continue, the task has become more difficult.
  • The maximum number of forest fires are human-generated — many accidental but a few deliberate ones. In several areas, there is a practice of burning the pasture lands to get rid of the dry leaf litter to ensure fresh grass growth for livestock.
  • Usually, when there is intermittent rainfall, such fires do not go out of control but when there’s prolonged dry weather, many of these fires go out of control.

About Wildfires:

  • Also called bush or vegetation fire or forest fire, it can be described as any uncontrolled and non-prescribed combustion or burning of plants in a natural setting such as a forest, grassland, brush land or tundra, which consumes the natural fuels and spreads based on environmental conditions (e.g., wind, topography).
  • Forest Fires can be incited by human actions, such as land clearing, extreme drought or in rare cases by lightning.
  • There are three conditions that need to be present in order for a wildfire to burn: fuel, oxygen, and a heat source.

Impact of WildFire:

  • Wildfires can have multiple adverse effects on the forest cover, soil, tree growth, vegetation, and the overall flora and fauna.
  • Fires render several hectares of forest useless and leave behind ash, making it unfit for any vegetation growth.
  • Heat generated during the fire destroys animal habitats.
  • Soil quality decreases with the alteration in their compositions.
  • Soil moisture and fertility, too, is affected.
  • Forests can shrink in size.
  • The trees that survive fire often remain stunted and growth is severely affected.

Indian State of Forest Report 2021 on Wildfires:

  • 46% of the forest cover is prone to forest fires. Out of this, 2.81% is extremely prone, 7.85% is very highly prone and 11.51% is highly prone.
  • By 2030, 45-64% of forests in India will experience the effects of climate change and rising temperatures.
  • Forests in all states (except Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Nagaland) will be highly vulnerable climate hot spots. Ladakh (forest cover 0.1-0.2%) is likely to be the most affected.
Environment Wildfires In Himachal Pradesh

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