Forest Fire in the Hindu Kush Himalayas: A Major Challenge for Climate Action

Abstract

Forest fire has been one of the compelling issues in the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region. To promote regeneration, clearing fields for agriculture, hunting, and security reasons, local people deliberately set forests on fire. In this paper, active fire incidents, temperature, precipitation, and the changes of Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) and Carbon monoxide (CO) value associated with forest fire were evaluated. The active forest fire incidents obtained from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite are supplemented by the ERA5-land dataset to see the relation between precipitation and temperature with forest fires. MODIS and Tropospheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) sensor datasets were used to see the changes in AOD and CO in the region. MODIS sensor detected more than 30,462 active fires incidents in March and April 2021 in the study areas. Shan State of Myanmar recorded the maximum number of active fire incidents which is due to the practice of shifting cultivation and minimum in Bhutan due to the awareness campaigns and technology improvement. The temperature recorded in the study sites shows an increasing trend as compared to the reference period (2010-2020). Apart from Shan and Bago of Myanmar, precipitation in the study sites is also less during the study period. AOD and CO values show prominent peaks in a fire season which coincide with days of the maximum number of fire counts inferring the influence of forest fire on air quality. Developing countries like Nepal, India, Myanmar, and Bhutan are willing to take part in climate finance and are bound to accept expensive insurance premium due to forest fire incidents. Unless forest fires are effectively managed and mitigated, achieving Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and global agendas, including United Nations Decade of Ecosystem Restoration is onerous.

Machine Learning for Predicting Forest Fire Occurrence in Changsha: An Innovative Investigation into the Introduction of a Forest Fuel Factor

“…Vegetation canopy evapotranspiration is the amount of water consumed by vegetation for transpiration, which can influence the degree of vegetation dieback and the fire risk rating. These two parameters can be estimated from the skin_reservoir_content and evaporation_from_the_top_of_canopy_sum provided in the ERA5-Land dataset, and these data can effectively represent the forest fuel moisture content, which may have a significant impact on the prediction of forest fire occurrence [56].…”

Integrated Spatial Analysis of Forest Fire Susceptibility in the Indian Western Himalayas (IWH) Using Remote Sensing and GIS-Based Fuzzy AHP Approach

“…According to [20], a forest fire in 2016 had a significant impact on the land area in Himachal Pradesh, affecting over 45 km 2 . Similarly, Uttarakhand saw a substantial impact, with around 31.85 km 2 being affected by the same forest fire event.…”

“…States such as Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu and Kashmir are particularly vulnerable to forest fires due to the combined effects of climatic conditions, geographical features, vegetation types, and human activities [18]. The Indian Western Himalayas has witnessed significant forest fire incidents in recent decades, mainly concentrated during the hot and arid pre-monsoon season spanning from March to June [19,20]. Between 2001 and 2019, the burn area increased in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh at a rate of 72.94 km 2 per year [21].…”