Tuesday, February 18th, 2025

Situation like California may arise in India too, forest fire spread due to this big reason


The Hollywood house is on fire. America’s Los Angeles, which is known for its grandeur, today there is only smoke there. The luxurious houses of big personalities have been turned into heaps of ashes. So far, more than 24 people have died and more than 12,000 houses have been destroyed. The forest fire spread so much that it engulfed many areas in no time. Even after so many days, controlling the fire remains a challenge. But if we are thinking that this ‘disaster’ has happened in America… why do we need to be worried about it, then perhaps we are wrong.

This ‘fire’ can become a cause of trouble for us also. Just maybe his/her face is different. To understand the whole story, let us first know how a rich country like America failed to stop the fire spreading in LA. What came to light during the investigation was that when the fire started spreading, the administration’s fire tanks to extinguish it had dried up. There was not enough water in the tank to control the fire.

Wildfire conditions are usually seen in California in June-July. But this time less rain has worsened the situation. The southern part of California was most affected. This area received very little rainfall last year. Due to this, there is a drought situation in more than 60 percent of the area in December 2024. According to the US Drought Monitor Map, only 40.9 percent of California was not in the grip of drought. Whereas in January, 2024 it was 96.65 percent. Due to climate change, dry winds have continued to blow for longer periods.
5 biggest incidents of arson in the world, America’s California fire will be forgotten

Why does India need to be alert?

Situation like California can arise in India any time. The example of the horrific forest fire in Nainital of Uttarakhand is in front of us. But it is not just about fire but about the continuously decreasing water. There is a change in the weather cycle due to climate change. Somewhere there is drought and somewhere there is heavy rain. According to a report by ICIMOD (International Center for Integrated Mountain Development), the Ganga River Basin is continuously declining. In the last 2 decades, 450 cubic kilometers of ground water has decreased in North India. According to Forest Survey of India (FSI), 36 percent of the forests in India are such that there is a risk of fire.

Top 10 cities in terms of water crisis

  1. Delhi
  2. Bengaluru
  3. Chennai
  4. Hyderabad
  5. Mumbai
  6. Ahmedabad
  7. Jaipur
  8. Kolkata
  9. Pune
  10. Nagpur

Understand how big the crisis is from these 3 examples

nainital

Last year, forest fire caused huge damage in tourist spots Nainital and Pauri Garhwal of Uttarakhand. The fire spread in many areas of Uttarakhand and burnt more than 30 acres of forest. The fire was so severe that the Air Force had to mobilize for rescue operations. Although there could be many reasons behind the fire, one thing that is common in California and Nainital is the lack of water.

The water level of Nainital’s Naini Lake has decreased by 18 feet in the last five years. The water level of Bhimtal, which was 22 meters in 1985, has now come down to only 17 meters. According to an estimate, there were more than 60 small and big lakes in this entire area, most of which have now dried up. Drought-like conditions are developing in the mountains.

fire in nainital

Shimla

It has become common to face water shortage in Himachal’s capital Shimla during summers. The water level in water sources like Giri, Ashwini Khad, Gumma reservoirs is continuously decreasing. In the year 2021, this level had come down to 2 million gallons per day, while the demand at that time was 6 million gallons per day. Shimla usually requires 43 million liters of water every day whereas it is getting only 30 million liters of water (MLD). Due to continuously increasing hotel population and climate change, a Day Zero like situation was created here.

Bengaluru

The population of the country’s IT hub Bengaluru has increased three times as compared to 1990. Urbanization is happening so fast that a Day Zero situation has arisen in front of the city. Day Zero means when there is not even a single drop of water left. Although steps have definitely been taken after reaching here, water still remains a problem here. Every day there is a shortage of 300 to 500 million liters of water. It is not that all this has happened suddenly. There used to be 262 lakes in Bengaluru, which have now reduced to 81. 66 percent of the forest has been reduced in this area. 74 percent of the lakes have been destroyed.

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