As forest fires escalate, hills of North India struggle to survive

The role of van panchayats and other community groups cannot be underestimated in enforcing sustainable fire management practices

The photograph of a young girl student studying in the hills of Uttarakhand has drawn the attention of the entire country. She is one of the hundreds of school kids studying in the hills of Garhwal and Kumaon who have to keep putting a damp cloth over their eyes to stop the acid-like sting of wildlife smoke. Tourists travelling up to Uttarakhand are shocked by this hazardous haze that is drastically reducing visibility, causing eye irritation and breathing discomfort.

The Uttarakhand hills are in the throes of a major crisis, with forest fires having spread across several districts from Almora, Chamoli, Rudraprayag, Uttarkashi, Pauri, Nainital, and Mussoorie. The flames have engulfed not only the pine forests but even the oak forests, which are located above the height of 1800 metres. Strong winds have made firefighting extremely difficult, and tourists are posting pictures of smoke rising from slopes and scorched hill sites.

These fires are not only generating excessive heat, leading to high temperatures, but are also clouding the view of the mountain ranges like Nanda Devi that are the sought-after destinations during the tourist season. 

Satellite images confirm images of multiple forest fires in Uttarakhand and in the neighbouring states of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. Uttarakhand recorded 476 forest fire incidents between February 15 and May 29, 2026, affecting 402.38 hectares of forest land. Himachal Pradesh has witnessed 295 forest fire incidents so far this year, including 288 in summer and 7 in winter, according to the Himachal Pradesh Forest Department’s FIRE dashboard. Jammu and Kashmir have reported 926 forest fires this year. Cumulatively, these fires, an annual feature, have ended up destroying several thousand acres of forest land.

The state capacity is also weak. The National Disaster Management Authority does not even recognise forest fires as natural hazards. This is a major error given that the state has failed to come up with any detailed blueprint to combat fires—a policy blind spot that has long hampered preparedness funding and response infrastructure.

This winter, the fires started in January and were so intense that they threatened the Valley of Flowers in Uttarakhand. Finally, the Indian Air Force had to be called in to help control the blaze. With the duration of these forest fires now lengthening, schoolgoing children complain that this constant exposure to wildfire smoke, comprising carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs, such as formaldehyde and benzene), is adversely impacting their health. Kids are being taken to local hospitals, complaining of wheezing and chest tightness.

Forest fires are threatening not only the region’s natural beauty and biodiversity but also the livelihoods of the hill people, who are heavily dependent on agriculture to make ends meet. The forest fires have devastated 70 per cent of the kafal crop, which is known for its medicinal properties and which is a key source of income for hundreds of villages. It has also adversely impacted the wheat crop and apple production, as lack of winter snow has led to weak flowering and diminished yields.

The government needs to understand that the Himalayan hills are facing a hydrological drought. Winter rains are rapidly declining, and glacial melt is on the rise. With 90 per cent of the agriculture in these states being rain-fed, both the kharif and the rabi crops remain vulnerable to prolonged dry spells. Fires destroy undergrowth, damage soil health, and increase the risk of soil erosion and landslides in an already unstable terrain.

“Moisture has evaporated from the soil, and seeds are unable to germinate,” BD Sharma, a retired agriculture protection officer in Uttarakhand, pointed out. 

This lack of moisture adversely affects agriculture and is causing a major agrarian crisis. In fact, one of the main reasons for families being forced to migrate to the plains is this growing lack of agricultural viability.

The heating up of this region has had another major fallout. Recent reports indicate that nearly 12,000 natural springs across Uttarakhand have dried up, with the Almora district alone losing 83% of its springs. Given that 90% of the state’s drinking water comes from these traditional water sources, the implications are dire. In districts like Pithoragarh, Champawat, and Almora, residents have been protesting for over two weeks, demanding immediate action to address the water scarcity that has left entire communities parched. In Champawat, the district hospital, serving over 300,000 people, often lacks the 67,500 litres of water it needs daily, leading to postponed surgeries and women giving birth en route to the medical facilities due to water shortages.  

In the last decade, Uttarakhand has witnessed an unprecedented influx of visitors, drawn by its spiritual sites and cooler climate. However, this boom has strained the already limited water resources. Tourists consume approximately 40 to 70 litres of water per day, and in towns like Mussoorie, the demand during peak season doubles the available supply. In Nainital, authorities have had to increase water extraction from the lake to meet the heightened demand, risking long-term ecological damage. 

This unchecked tourism has created an imbalance. Villages remain parched, while hotels and resorts have uninterrupted access to water. Environmentalists have been pressing the government to enforce a cap on tourists or to disperse them to other less-travelled areas so as to reduce the load from these present popular destinations.

The Dhami government needs to realise that its ambitious push to transform itself into a hub for religious and ecotourism is increasingly at odds with the state’s deepening water crisis. While the government promotes spiritual circuits like Gangotri, Yamunotri, Kedarnath, and Badrinath to boost local employment and revenue, the foundational resource—water—is rapidly vanishing from the Himalayan landscape. Economic aspirations cannot be built atop an ecological emergency. 

The only way to revive water sources is to allow the rainwater to percolate gradually into the earth to be able to recharge underground aquifers. For this, nature-based earthworks and intensive afforestation are required to stabilise the soil. The roots of native plants and trees act as natural sponges to slow down subsurface water flows.

Community mobilisation is a must for afforestation to become a success. Given the forest department’s limited manpower, village mobilisation backed by local institutions must form the backbone of grassroots fire prevention. In May 2025, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami praised the role of Mahila and Yuva Mangal Dals, noting that in times of disaster, these groups act as first responders in villages, and announced a loan assistance policy to help make these groups become self-reliant. The role of van panchayats and other community groups cannot be underestimated in enforcing sustainable fire management practices.

RASHME SEHGAL