EXPLAINED| Similipal Wildfire: Here’s What Caused Fire In Asia’s Second Largest Biosphere Reserve

The latest fire incident is slightly different and alarming because of the early onset of summer and less rain fall in the region making it viable for the fire to spread quickly.

Representative Image

The incident of massive fire spreading through vast tracts of Asia’s second-largest biosphere Simlipal National Park in the Mayurbhanj district of Odisha has once again brought the focus on global warming and climate change issues.

The wildfire that broke out two weeks ago has raised alarm regarding its possible impact on wildlife and the environment. However, there was no loss of life in the park because of the raging fire that spread over 2,750 kilometres in the park and its neighbouring areas. The forest fire at the national park is yet to be fully doused as per the news agency PTI.

What’s the reason behind this raging fire?

The forest, known for its unique microclimate, keeps getting intermittent rainfall at this time of the year. Such showers act has natural fire controllers, but when prolonging dry spells continue for more than two-three weeks, it can prove to be a disaster.

In the summer months, the forest generally witnesses such fires but not of this scale. As per the report in Down To Earth, around 90 per cent of forest fires is believed to be human-made. Most poachers in the area end up lighting dry shrubs to scare animals and villagers too get involved in controlled burning to ensure better picking of mahua flowers.

The latest fire incident is slightly different and alarming because of the early onset of summer and less rain fall in the region making it viable for the fire to spread quickly. Besides, careless attitude of the natives and the dry summer are also seen as the reasons causing this fire incident.

Even the day temperature that hovered around 40 degree Celsius in Similipal in the past two weeks also led to this raging fire. Odisha has been listed as the top state to witness forest fire incidents with 23,325 fire spots since March 1, 2021, according to the Forest Survey of India’s fire alerts system- SNPP.

Similipal is home to 1,076 vascular plants, 93 species of orchids, 400 medicinal plants and many wildlife species. Such fire incident threatens the life of  these species causing irreversible damage.

Hence, it is critical to address the fire issue before our forests are wiped out threatening our own existence.