Uttarakhand records 900 wildfires in 2 months as dry spell continues
MUSSOORIE: Soaring temperatures, triggered by a prolonged dry spell being witnessed in April, have led to a spike in forest fires in the state, officials from the forest and weather departments said,
The forest department has sounded fire alert in divisions under eight districts of the state. Low humidity levels, accompanied by windy conditions with no signs of rain, have aggravated the problem leaving the forest officials struggling to control the forest fires in the state.
“903 forest fire incidents have been reported since February 15 in which around 1300 hectares of forest have been burnt so far,” said Nishant Verma, chief conservator of forest (fire and disaster management).
The forest officials under 12 divisions in eight districts that have witnessed increased forest fires have been asked to conduct a sensitization drive to create awareness among the villagers to stay away from the burning of crop residue so that it does spread in the civil and reserve forest areas.
Chief conservator of forests, Kumaon region, Tejaswini Patil has instructed all divisional forest officers (DFOs) to coordinate with departments in consultation with district magistrates and take necessary steps to control forest fires.
Since April 1, Uttarakhand has reported a mere 4.6 mm rain against an average of 23 mm , resulting in 80 % rain deficiency, according to Indian Meteorological Department data.
The IMD meanwhile has predicted rains in some areas from Thursday evening for two or three days and then on April 25 but after that, the dry spell will continue from next week.
Bikram Singh, director, regional meteorological centre in Dehradun, said, “Lack of rains has resulted in soaring temperatures and a prolonged dry spell this month which was witnessed last in 2004”.
“The state has been getting rains in March and April but due to the northward movement of the western disturbance this season, we have not received rains this month resulting in high temperatures which are 4 to 7 degrees Celsius above normal in most of the places in the state”, said Bikram Singh.
The circulation of convection current due to high temperatures is also resulting in windy conditions which are contributing to the spread of forest fires in the state, he added.
The maximum temperature reached 40 degrees Celsius this month in the state which is unprecedented.
The maximum average temperature will hover around between 36-40 degrees Celsius in the plains of Uttarakhand, including Haridwar, Udham Singh Nagar and parts of Dehradun, during the summer months, said IMD officials.
In the Garhwal region several forest divisions in the districts of Uttarkashi portion of Tehri, Rudraprayag etc are experiencing forest fires recurring periodically for the past one week resulting in the charring of the forest and damaging the biodiversity of the region.
Chief Conservator of Forests Garhwal region Sushant Patnaik said, “Till yesterday the total incidents of forest fire were around 364 in which 400 hectares of the forest area has been affected in Garhwal region”. He said to douse the forest equipment such as fire beaters or blowers is being used apart from the rudimentary methods along with controlled burning exercises as preventive steps
“I have directed the officials to transfer the staff from the divisions that are not witnessing any forest fire to the fire-sensitive areas of another district to provide additional help.
So far only ground forest fire has been experienced and we have not seen any crown fire which is far more damaging for the trees”, he said.
MM Bisht forest range officer Narendra Nagar Forest division said, “The forest fires have been witnessed in Kokohi, Badri kali and Neergad ranges of the division and prompt action is being taken to douse the fire with the help of gram panchayats and other departments. The windy condition and the humidity coming down to around 20 per cent are making the dousing of forest fire difficult in the area”.
The dry leaves near the forests and on the roadsides are also contributing to forest fire and the forest department has begun an exercise to mitigate the problem through controlled burning. At Mussoorie forest division the forest department carried out controlled burning of leaves exercise to stop the spread of the forest fire.
DFO Kahkashan Naseem said, “We have begun the exercise of controlled burning of the dry leaves that have accumulated on the Mussoorie-Dehradun Road so that they do not catch fire and lead to spreading across the forest in the area.”