In the various districts of the Garhwal division, record-breaking incidents of forest fires were recorded as early as the third week of April this year. Compared to last year, approximately 42 percent more forest area has already been consumed by fire. Consequently, the Air Quality Index (AQI), even within the pristine environment of the mountains, has reached alarming levels. Experts have expressed apprehension regarding the grave dangers posed by this situation.
According to a report by the Forest Department, 145 incidents of forest fires have been recorded so far. Of these, 81 incidents occurred in reserved forests, while 64 were recorded in civil forests. As a result, precious forest cover spanning an area of 96.08 hectares has been destroyed by fire. By the third week of April, the highest number of forest fire incidents 110 in total, were recorded within just five forest divisions under the Garhwal Circle alone. Within this subset, 56 incidents occurred in reserved forests, while 54 were recorded in civil forests.
To date, the Badrinath Forest Division has witnessed the highest number of incidents, with 41 recorded cases. In the Rudraprayag Forest Division, out of a total of 30 forest fire incidents, 10 occurred in reserved forests and 20 in civil forests, resulting in the burning of approximately 65 hectares of forest land. In comparison, during the same period last year, only three incidents each were recorded in the reserved and civil forests.