Play all audios:
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.