Prolonged heat wave
An unusually long heat wave emerged as a major crisis. The state government advanced the summer vacation in view of the scorching heat in April. Growing night temperature and high humidity made life miserable for many across the state for weeks in June. Under the impact of the extreme weather condition, Odisha recorded 32.2% deficit rainfall between June 1 and July 10, affecting the kharif crop season.
31,000 wildfire incidents
The rise in temperature and the subsequent heat wave led to another worst forest fire season in Odisha this year. By mid-April the state had a staggering 29,771 wildfire incidents of which 4,000 were reported in just one week, in the same month. As per the statistics of the Forest Survey of India, the state reported over 31,000 forest fires in the 2023 fire season. With the new forest fire season commencing from January, the state government has now asked all DFOs to keep their district fire prevention and management action plan for 2024-25 ready by this month end.
Croc problem
The rising cases of conflict with crocodiles emerged as a challenge to conservation in the state. The growing density of reptiles and the ever-increasing anthropogenic pressure resulted in at least 10 fatalities, mostly in Kendrapara district. The Bhitarkanika national park has already surpassed the density of five to six crocodiles per square km of water, throwing up fresh challenges for the authorities.
Man-animal conflict A string of incidents related to mananimal conflicts were a major cause of concern. The state which had reported 148 deaths due to elephant attacks in 2022-23, the highest in the country, continued to record such cases right from the beginning of the year. The state govt revised the compassionate grant amount substantially to arrest resentment among the communities in forest fringe areas and curb man-animal conflict.
Tiger count exercise
Odisha launched its own tiger count exercise in October to find out their exact number in its forests after the All India Tiger Estimation 2022 report pegged the figure of the striped predator at just 20, down from 45 in 2006. The state govt which is expected to release the report of fresh estimation towards February 2024 has found the exercise encouraging with detection of a number of melanistic tigers.