{"id":287619,"date":"2024-03-19T18:47:41","date_gmt":"2024-03-19T13:17:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/?p=287619"},"modified":"2024-03-19T18:47:41","modified_gmt":"2024-03-19T13:17:41","slug":"status-of-forest-fires-in-india-heat-aridity-clear-skies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/status-of-forest-fires-in-india-heat-aridity-clear-skies\/","title":{"rendered":"Status of forest fires in India: Heat, aridity, clear skies"},"content":{"rendered":"

Source<\/strong>: The post status of forest fires in India has been created, based on the article \u201cHeat, aridity, clear skies: why forests are already ablaze in the Nilgiris<\/strong>\u201d published in \u201cIndian express<\/strong>\u201d on 19th March 2024.<\/p>\n

UPSC<\/strong> Syllabus<\/strong> Topic<\/strong>: <\/strong>GS Paper 3-disaster management- Forest fire<\/p>\n

News<\/strong>: The article details forest fires in the Coonoor forest range, Tamil Nadu, where the Indian Air Force used an Mi-17 V5 helicopter with a Bambi Bucket to drop water on the fires. This is part of efforts to control the intense wildfires in the region.<\/p>\n

What<\/strong> is<\/strong> the<\/strong> current<\/strong> status<\/strong> of<\/strong> forest<\/strong> fires<\/strong> in<\/strong> India<\/strong>?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Frequency and Season: <\/strong>As per the India State of Forest Report (ISFR<\/strong>) 2019, forest fires are common in India, particularly from November to June.<\/p>\n

High Risk Areas:<\/strong> The ISFR 2019 identifies over 36% of India’s forest cover as fire-prone (about 4% extremely prone\u2019 to fire, and another 6% was \u2018very highly\u2019 fire prone). Northeast India, Odisha, Maharashtra, and Uttarakhand face severe risks.<\/p>\n

2024 Fire Incidents:<\/strong> FSI data shows the highest number of fires in Mizoram (3,738), Manipur (1,702), Assam (1,652), Meghalaya (1,252), and Maharashtra (1,215).<\/p>\n

South India’s Trends:<\/strong> Despite generally lower risk, Tamil Nadu has experienced increased wildfire incidents.<\/p>\n

What are the reasons for forest fires in India?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Human Actions: <\/strong>Fires often start due to human activities like discarding cigarettes, leaving campfires unattended, and burning debris.<\/p>\n

Natural Causes: <\/strong>Lightning strikes are a frequent natural cause of forest fires.<\/p>\n

Climatic Factors: <\/strong>This year, the spread of forest fires is influenced by high aridity, above-normal temperatures, and clear sky conditions, especially in Southern India.<\/p>\n

Recent Temperature Trends:<\/strong> Southern India experienced exceptionally high temperatures recently, with February being the hottest since 1901, contributing to dry forest conditions.<\/p>\n

Specific Regional Conditions: <\/strong>The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) reported high Excess Heat Factor (EHF) in western Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, with temperatures hitting 40 degrees Celsius, unusually high for mid-March, increasing the risk of fires.<\/p>\n

Question for practice:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Examine the factors contribute to the increased frequency of forest fires in South India, particularly in Tamil Nadu?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Source: The post status of forest fires in India has been created, based on the article \u201cHeat, aridity, clear skies: why forests are already ablaze in the Nilgiris\u201d published in \u201cIndian express\u201d on 19th March 2024. UPSC Syllabus Topic: GS Paper 3-disaster management- Forest fire News: The article details forest fires in the Coonoor forest… Continue reading Status of forest fires in India: Heat, aridity, clear skies<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10320,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1230,9],"tags":[411,216,10500],"class_list":["post-287619","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-9-pm-daily-articles","category-public","tag-disaster-management","tag-gs-paper-3","tag-indian-express","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287619","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10320"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=287619"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287619\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=287619"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=287619"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=287619"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}