New Study Shows Fire Risks Grow in Eastern Ghats While Declining in Western Ghats

Fire Trends Across India

New research from the Centre for Wildlife Studies reveals that forest fires are changing in different ways across three major Indian landscapes. Between 2002 and 2022, the area burned by fires grew most steeply in the Eastern Ghats at a rate of 9.3 percent every year. In contrast, the Western Ghats saw a yearly decline of 10.8 percent in burned forest areas.

Human and Climate Factors

The study looked at about 20,000 square kilometres of protected forest land across 13 reserves using satellite data from NASA's MODIS sensor. Researchers found that human actions and climate conditions together explained between 21 and 77 percent of yearly fire activity in individual reserves. Drought and local community fire use both played major roles, but their impact varied greatly by region. High population density led to more frequent fires in the Kawal Wildlife Sanctuary in Telangana and the Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve in Andhra Pradesh. However, similar conditions led to fewer fires in the Nagarahole and Bandipur National Parks in Karnataka.

Ecological Impact

The different fire patterns are changing local plant life across the country. In the Eastern Ghats, intensifying fires help fire-resistant grasses like Cymbopogon grow while making it hard for native trees to regrow. Meanwhile, parts of the Western Ghats suffer from too little fire, which lets woody plants take over open grasslands needed by local herbivores. The study calculated that the average time between fires in the same spot is 14 years in the Eastern Ghats, 31 years in Central India, and 92 years in the Western Ghats.

Context

Forest fires are a natural part of many ecosystems, but changing weather patterns and human activities are altering how often and how intensely they burn. Managing these fires requires looking at local climate conditions, plant types, and human presence rather than using a single approach for the entire country.