BHUBANESWAR: As an unusually early summer has raised temperature by two to three degrees Celsius above average in Odisha fueling fears of forest fires, a new study revealed that 40.85 per cent of Similipal Biosphere Reserve is highly susceptible to forest fires.
The study that assessed forest fire trends and susceptibility in Similipal from 2012 to 2023 using four machine learning models found that high susceptibility areas accounted for 23.08 pc, moderate susceptibility zones covered 16.19 pc, while very high susceptibility areas comprised 18.23 pc.
Interestingly, very low and low susceptibility zones together represented 42.5 pc, indicating a large portion of the area is at relatively low fire risk. The analysis identified 2021 as the peak year for fire incidents, with 94.72 pc of the fires occurring during March and April, and March alone contributing 73.42 pc.
The buffer zone experienced the highest number of incidents, with significant anthropogenic activity and topographic features. Additionally, climate conditions during the fire season (March to May) significantly influence the development and spread of fires that are often triggered by dry deciduous forests igniting from dead leaves during the pre-monsoon season. Natural causes such as lightning also contribute to the occurrence of fires.
Among the Southeast Asian countries, India reports an increased frequency of forest fires (95 pc of the cases) largely attributable to human causes. Odisha ranks amongst the most affected states where almost 50 pc of the forest land marked as moderately to highly fire-prone.
Prof Manoranjan Mishra of Fakir Mohan University said forest fire management in the country has its own set of distinct challenges and continuing fires in Similipal that forms part of a biodiversity hotspot underscore the importance of comprehensive forest fire management strategies.
“Damage to ecosystems is exacerbated by forest fires and eventually socio-economic conditions are affected and it becomes evident that there is a lack of adequate measures for prevention and response,” said Prof Mishra, an author of the study.
This study addresses the critical gap by employing the delta normalised burn ratio (dNBR) technique to accurately map burn areas. The study further analysed forest fire trends and patterns using high-resolution active fire point data from VIIRS satellites.
The analysis of forest fires in last one decade revealed a marked increase in fire incidents. The buffer zone experienced the highest fire incidents, with a total of 9,285 fires over 12 years, attributed to anthropogenic pressures.
“These findings will provide valuable insights for policymakers and conservationists, enabling targeted interventions in high-risk zones and enhancing fire management strategies to reduce the impact of forest fires,” Prof Mishra added.