Lessons for India from the California forest fires

In an age of climate variability, we need a robust mechanism to save our forests

The forest fires raging in California, United States, are said to be the most destructive wildfire in the state’s history. While forest fires are not new to the region, this year the scale has been huge thanks to hot, dry summer conditions persisting into the autumn. According to the US Drought Monitor, 18% of the state is experiencing severe drought, exacerbating seasonal weather patterns and making it difficult to fight fires in the state. Experts have said that climate change is also creating conditions more favourable for wildfires in the American West. This could be true since climate plays a vital role in determining fire patterns and intensity, in turn, fire influences the climate system through the release of carbon. A US government Climate Change Impacts in the United States, confirms that increased warming, drought, and insect outbreaks, all caused by or linked to climate change, have increased wildfires.

India’s forests are also facing similar challenges. In 2015, there were 15,937 forest fires in India. In 2017, that number rose to 35,888, a 125% spike over two years, says the 2017 State of Environment Report of the Centre for Science and Environment, New Delhi. A National Institute of Disaster Management report on forest fires says 50% of the country’s forests are prone to fire.

Unfortunately, our firefighting potential is not as good as it should be. First, the country lacks fire protection planning knowledge. Second, the statistics on forest fire damage are poor, and so it is difficult to arrive at accurate losses from the forest fires. Third,foresters still fight forest fires using outdated methods, when systematic modern fire management techniques and methods have been adopted in the rest of the world. Last, as the National Green Tribunal said in 2017, India doesn’t have a strong and clear national policy on how to tackle forest fires. In an age of climate variability, such lack of preparedness can put India’s forest wealth at a huge risk.