Wildfires across the globe are worsening throughout the globe because of climate crisis, which is the result of pollution, deforestation, and the greenhouse effect, among others. Every year, several forest fires engulf a portion of forest in various regions, turning the areas into ash. The fires also claim the lives of people as well as animals.
Forest fire, representative image. (Photo credit: Unsplash)
New Delhi: Uttarakhand, which is well known for its lush green vegetation, is battling with a massive forest fire that erupted on Saturday in Nainital district. A team of 41 National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel was deployed on Sunday to douse the sky-high flames, which are significantly gaining pace and have reached near the Nainital district headquarter. The massive flame of the forest fire forced the state government to use the Army’s MI 17 helicopters to collect water from Bhimtal Lake and spray it over the forest region. Meanwhile, the state government has prohibited forest officials from going on leave during the forest fire season. In the past few months, the state has witnessed significant forest fires, which are mainly triggered by the rise in temperature. While the government is taking all measures to douse the flame, let’s take a look at some major forest fire incidents in history across the globe.
2003 Siberian Taiga Fires
The Siberian Taiga Forest Fires, which took place in 2003, are one of the greatest forest fires recorded in history. According to a report by NASA, the spring and summer of 2003 were recorded as the most extensive in over 100 years. Fires in Eastern Siberia have been increasing in recent years, and the flames in the taiga forests of Eastern Siberia in 2003 were part of a vast network of fires throughout Siberia and the Russian Far East, northern Mongolia and northeast China. According to the Global Fire Monitoring Center, the massive flame engulfed the greeneries of over 55 million acres of land, turning them into ash.
2019-20 Australian bushfires
Australia witnessed one of the massive forest fires across the globe in the years 2019-2020. Extensive heat, dry conditions, dry leaves in the forest, a lack of moisture in the soil, and early fires in Central Queensland resulted in the early beginning of the bushfire season, starting in June 2019. Until May 2020, the country witnessed hundreds of forest fires, and the most severe forest fires erupted between December 2019 and January 2020. The extreme forest fires spread through New South Wales and Queensland in southeastern Australia, engulfing 42 million acres, turning thousands of buildings into ash and claiming the lives of dozens of people as well as 3 billion animals.
