WILDFIRES

18 Jul WILDFIRES

WILDFIRES – Today Current Affairs

TOPIC IN NEWS :- Wildfires continue to spread in the Gironde region of southwestern France. (THE HINDU)

Today Current Affairs

Other Important Points

• Heatwaves engulf parts of southwest Europe.
• Scientists blame climate change and predict more frequent and intense episodes of extreme weather such as heatwaves and drought
• A study also published in the journal Environmental Research: Climate concluded it was highly probable that climate change was making heatwaves worse.

What is Wildfire ? The Hindu Analysis

According to WHO “ A wildfire is an unplanned fire that burns in a natural area such as a forest, grassland, or prairie. It caused by human activity or a natural phenomenon such as lightning, and they can happen at any time or anywhere.” The risk of wildfires is enhanced in extremely dry conditions, such as drought and during high winds. 

Causes of Wildfires : The Hindu Analysis

• Natural Causes :- Lightning, Volcanic eruption etc
• Human Causes :- Smoking, Unattended Campfires, Burning Debris, Fireworks, Machinery accidents

Effects of Wildfires: The Hindu Analysis

• Loss of Ecosystems and Biodiversity:- Wildfires destroy all flora and fauna leading to loss of ecosystems and biodiversity. Wildfires simply damage the habitable and adaptable land for specific animal and plant species. It affects or kills the plant life, features which support thousands of wildlife thereby forcing the animals out of the regions or even killing them.
• Air Pollution :- Forests, trees help to purify air by absorbing carbon dioxide, greenhouse gasses, and air impurities and later give off oxygen. When forests & trees are destroyed by fires, the quality of air declines and greenhouse gasses increase in the atmosphere leading to climate change and global warming. Also there is formation of the huge clouds of smoke instigated by wildfires that lead to massive air pollution. The Hindu Analysis
  
• Soil Degradation :- Forest soils consist of nutrients, minerals &  beneficial microorganisms but burning of trees and vegetation destroy all these important components. As a result, soil becomes degraded.
• Forest Degradation :- Forest fires which normally happen in dry tropical forests are a major cause of forest degradation. Forest fires destroy thousands of acres of trees and vegetation. It will also impact the quality of certain forest features like soil fertility, biodiversity, and ecosystems etc.
• Economic Losses :- Wildfires destroy everything in their path including houses, buildings, property etc. Even the authorities, army, airplanes which are deployed to control the fires required huge costs. 

Forest Fires in India : The Hindu Analysis

• Forest fires are a regular phenomenon in our country often observed during summers. 
• About 52,785 forest fires were detected using MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectro-radiometer) sensor and 3,45,989 forest fires were detected using SNPP-VIIRS (Suomi-National Polar-orbiting Partnership – Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite)in forest fire season from Nov 2020 to June 2021. 
• More than 36% of the country’s forest cover has been estimated to be prone to frequent forest fires.  The Hindu Analysis
  
• Nearly 4 % of the country’s forest cover is extremely prone to fire, whereas 6% of forest cover is found to be very highly fire prone.
• Based on the forest inventory records, 54.40% of forests in India are exposed to occasional fires, 7.49% to moderately frequent fires and 2.40% to high incidence levels.
• Satellite based remote sensing technology and GIS tools have been effective in better prevention and management of fires through creation of early warning for fire prone areas, monitoring fires on a real time basis and estimation of burn scars.
• In 2020, there was the introduction of forest fires danger rating and strengthening of the large forest fire monitoring system and FSI Van Agni Geo-portal.

In this article we mention all information about WILDFIRES  Today Current Affairs.

Source :- Forest Survey of India (Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change)

Plutus ias current affairs  18 July 2022

anoop singh