Forest Fires in the Himalayan Region

The season, the worst-hit state, and what starts them

• Himalayan forest fires typically occur from November to June, in the drier months. The season peaks in the pre-monsoon months of March, April, and May.
• Uttarakhand is the most fire-prone state in the Indian Western Himalaya, according to the Forest Survey of India. See Uttarakhand.
• Most forest fires in India are triggered by human activity. But a 2026 study found temperature the single strongest driver among 39 variables.
• In that study, every 1°C rise in mean summer temperature meant roughly 128 additional fires.

How fires get caught early, and the national plan

• FSI runs the Forest Fire Alert System (FAST). It uses MODIS satellite sensors to send near-real-time alerts to State Forest Departments.
• The National Action Plan on Forest Fire (NAPFF), 2018, coordinates prevention, active control, and post-fire community response nationwide.

The study’s scale, and where fires cluster

• The study was by the Forest Research Institute (Dehradun) and IIT Roorkee. It analysed over 18,000 independent fire locations from 2013 to 2022.
• It covered Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh. It examined 39 bioclimatic, human, and terrain variables.
• Fires cluster close to roads and settlements. Fire counts drop sharply beyond about 1 kilometre from a road.

Why dry forests burn easier, and what is at stake

• Less winter snow and rain dries out forest floors. Dead pine needles and leaf litter then burn more easily.
• The Indian Institute of Remote Sensing reported a winter rainfall deficit of 60% to 116% below normal, from October to December 2025.
• Uttarakhand’s Forest Department names four causes: deliberate fires by locals, carelessness, farming-related activity, and natural causes.
• Himalayan forests, including the Eastern Himalaya, hold about 3,273 million tonnes of carbon. Repeated burning puts that stock at risk. See Himalayan Forest Zonation.

Human-lit, climate-driven: the real traps

• Most fires start with human activity. Rising heat and a winter rainfall deficit let them spread further and faster. Do not mix up “what starts a fire” with “what drives how far it spreads”.
• Do not treat NAPFF and FAST as one thing. NAPFF is the national policy. FAST is the satellite alert system FSI runs under it.
• Fire risk clusters near roads and settlements. That points to human ignition, even though climate governs the spread.

A record fire season

• In the first two months of 2026, forest fires nationwide rose over 80% above the 2014-2023 average.
• Fire activity in 2026 was also over 50% higher than in 2024, the previous warmest year on record.
• From 15 February to 29 May 2026, Uttarakhand recorded 476 fires over 402.38 hectares. Himachal Pradesh logged 295. Jammu & Kashmir recorded 926.

2026’s early and severe season

• Uttarakhand’s 2026 season began unusually early. It recorded 54 fire incidents from 1 November 2025 to 14 February 2026, well before the usual peak.
• Severe fires in Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland in February 2026 led to aerial firefighting by the Indian Air Force. Over 12,000 litres of water were dropped in Arunachal’s Lohit valley alone.
• FSI’s Van Agni Geo-Portal now shows near-real-time fire detections, danger ratings, and fire-prone areas for State Forest Departments.