This Odisha district most prone to high-intensity forest fire: Study

New Delhi: An independent study conducted by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) has found out that five states including Odisha are the most prone to high-intensity forest fire events caused by rapid change in the climate.

The study stated Kandhamal district in Odisha, Sheopur district in Madhya Pradesh, Udham Singh Nagar district in Uttarakhand and East Godavari district in Andhra Pradesh are some of the forest fire hotspot districts that are showing a swapping trend from flood to drought.

The CEEW study analysed multi-decadal (2000-09/2010-19) spatio-temporal data to identify the States vulnerable to high-intensity forest fires and their correlation with the varying microclimate.

The CEEW study titled ‘Managing Forest Fires in a Changing Climate’ and released today also found that over the last two decades, more than 89 per cent of total forest fire incidences have been recorded in districts that are traditionally drought-prone or have been witnessing the weather swapping trend.

“Sharp increase in forest fires over the last two decades calls for a significant course correction in our approach to managing forest fires. The recent incident at Sariska forest reserve, fourth such incident in a week, shows why managing forest fires in a changing climate scenario is a national imperative. We should recognise forest fires as a natural hazard and earmark more funds for mitigation-related activities,” said Programme Lead at CEEW, Abinash Mohanty.

The study also recommended that forest fires should be recognised as a disaster under the National Disaster Management Act (NDMA). This could help strengthen the National Plan on Forest.

More than 30 per cent of the Indian districts are vulnerable to extreme forest fires even as its instances in India have risen by over 10 times in the past two decades, the study added.

In the last month alone, significant forest fires have been reported from Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, notably from Sariska Tiger Reserve.

(With agency inputs)