When winter burns: Uttarakhand to Kashmir, Himalayan forests are catching fire out of season

DEHRADUN/KULLU/SRINAGAR: For decades, forest fires in the Himalayas followed a predictable calendar. They started simmering in late spring and early summer, when rising temperatures, dry winds and accumulated leaf litter turned forests combustible. Winter, by contrast, was the season of snow, moisture and relative calm. That rhythm has been breaking for the past few years.

This winter, forests across Uttarakhand - and increasingly Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir - have been burning with an intensity and frequency that forest officials and scientists say is no longer an anomaly, but indicative of a shifting ecological pattern. "Forest fires are part of a natural cycle, but climate variability is compressing and intensifying that cycle," said Amit Kumar Verma, senior scientist at Dehradun's Forest Research Institute, who is involved in a five-year study to understand shifting forest fire regimes across the country.

Data from Doon-based Forest Survey of India (FSI) shows that since the onset of the winter wildfire season on Nov 1, Uttarakhand has recorded the highest number of fire alerts in the country - 1,756 - surpassing states traditionally more forest fire-prone, such as Maharashtra (1,028), Karnataka (924), Madhya Pradesh (868) and Chhattisgarh (862).

While officials emphasise that not every satellite alert translates into an active forest fire, the pattern itself is difficult to dismiss.

December, typically a low-fire month, emerged as the most active in the state in nearly three years.

‘Mountains where we’ve lived our lives don’t feel as pleasant anymore’

Data from Doon-based Forest Survey of India (FSI) shows that since the onset of the winter wildfire season on Nov 1, Uttarakhand has recorded the highest number of fire alerts in the country — 1,756 — surpassing states traditionally more forest fire-prone, such as Maharashtra (1,028), Karnataka (924), Madhya Pradesh (868) and Chhattisgarh (862).

While officials emphasise that not every satellite alert translates into an active forest fire, the pattern itself is difficult to dismiss.

Dec, typically a low-fire month, emerged as the most active in the state in nearly three years. Forest officials attribute much of the spike to extreme dryness. “We have had a completely rainless December. Moisture levels in forest floors are very low,” a senior official said. Like Uttarakhand, Himachal, too, has not received any rainfall since the first week of October last year, and snowfall has been largely absent from major apple-growing belts such as Kullu, Mandi, Shimla and Chamba. This has led to fires sparking across the state’s forests -- maximum at Shimla forest circle (62), followed by Rampur (16), Mandi (8), the Great Himalayan National Park-Kullu (6), Chamba and Kullu (4 each), and Bilaspur and Wildlife (South) circle (2 each) as per data from the state forest department.

The pattern extends further north
Kashmir’s forests have been enduring a harsh, snow-deficient winter too. Fires have been reported across the Valley and the Pir Panjal range, including Uri, Bandipora, Nishat and Poonch. In Dec, a forest guard died while fighting a blaze in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district, and on Jan 12, a forest fire in Poonch triggered a series of landmine explosions along the Line of Control after flames spread into mined areas in Balakote and Mendhar sectors. “There is nearly a 40% snowfall deficit after three consecutive dry winters,” said Mudasir Mehmood, DFO Awantipora. “With no soil moisture, it’s no surprise that grass becomes highly flammable.”

But does dryness alone explain the scale or spread?
Officials point to stubble burning in farms close to forest fringes, biomass and solid waste burning, and in some cases, villagers setting fire to forest floors to encourage fresh grass growth for cattle. Anti-forest activities — including poaching and attempts to flush wildlife from cover — are also cited by forest and wildlife experts as possible reasons.

According to former Uttarakhand head of forest force Jairaj, forest fires are rarely driven by a single cause. “In high-altitude areas with valuable wildlife like musk deer, poachers sometimes light fires to corner animals during winter when they are already vulnerable. Climate change adds another layer — everything is dry, and even a small spark can escalate into a big blaze,” he said.

What is compounding the situation is that traditional forest management practices have eroded. The gradual decline of grazing and community-led clearing has allowed dry grass and leaf litter to accumulate on the forest floor, creating a potent mix that can erupt into a blaze if a carelessly-thrown beedi or half-lit match comes its way. “Earlier, villagers regularly cleared jungle grass. With migration and alternative livelihoods, that practice is fading,” an official said.

On the ground, residents are already feeling the impact. In Jyotirmath (formerly Joshimath), 61-year-old Sarvani Devi has been watching, with a wary eye, smoke spiralling from the forest near her house for the past few days. “If these fires spread, everything will turn to ash. That is our biggest fear. Somehow, these mountains, where we have lived all our lives, don’t feel as pleasant anymore.”

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