Pre-monsoon rain helps reduce forest fires

Nepal (Kathmandu), April 18: Generally, the period from Mid-March to Mid-April is considered as high risk time for outbreak of forest fires in Nepal. However, only a few incidents of forest fire were recorded during this period this time.

According to meteorologists, this is because of the occurrence of the pre-monsoon rainfall which exceeded the average pre-monsoon precipitation. There was a decrease in fire incidents in last month compared to the same period of the previous year.

According to the data provided by the Department of Forests and Soil Conservation, 466 fire incidents were recorded in Chaitra 2078. This number had decreased to 267 in Chaitra 2079.

Similarly, 249 incidents of forest fire were reported in Chaitra 2080 and the number of forest fire incidents rose again to 331 in Chaitra 2081. In Chaitra 2082, however, only 79 fire incidents have been recorded so far, the lowest ever. Overall, in 2078 there were 2,162 fire incidents, which decreased to 1,270 in 2079. In 2080 it reached 2,055 and in 2081 it reached 3,047.

In 2082, 424 incidents have been registered. Secretary at the Ministry of Forests and Environment, Dr Govinda Prasad Sharma, said that there has been a reduction in forest fires this year due to rainfall occurring even before the monsoon started.

“This year there was no major problem related to forest fires. However, how to manage forest fires was also discussed at the meeting held at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers on Wednesday. Issues such as purchasing drones for forest fire control were also raised in the meeting,” he said.

It was also decided in the meeting to manage the necessary resources for the prevention and response to monsoon-related disasters from the budget allocated to the relevant ministry and to request the Ministry of Finance for any shortfall. Monthly analysis shows that forest fires occur most frequently in Baisakh.

There were 1,204 forest fire incidents in the month of Baisakh in 2078 BS, 609 in 2079, 1,270 in 2080 and 1,904 incidents in 2081. In Baisakh of 2082, however, the number of fires decreased to only 173. Statistics also show that a significant number of fires occur in the Jeth.

A report on forest fires published by the Department of Forests and Soil Conservation has shown that with the recent increase in fire risk, the forest fire has emerged as an environmental challenge. According to the report, about 89 percent of total incidents occur from Mid-February to Mid-April.

Long-term data shows 2016 as the most severe year of wildfires. In recent years, the risk of wildfires remains high. Notably, a significant number of wildfire incidents were recorded in 2021 and 2024. —