CALAMITY// Beginning February, forest fires have destroyed nearly 4,048 hectares of land in Uttarakhand and killed six people. Forest officials fear wildlife could have faced distress, too. Uttarakhand was reeling under heat wave conditions for over more than a week in May, with most places recording temperatures that are four to five degrees above normal for this time of the year. This was one of the main reasons for the forest fires. However, some experts also suggest poor rainfall, El Nino and climate warming as causes.

IAF helicopters and government agencies stepped up their fight against raging forest fires in Uttarakhand even as officials said the blaze was “completely under control”. The situation prompted the Centre to send in three companies of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) to put out the flames and conduct rescue operations. Earlier satellite images by the Indian Space Research Organisation showed more active forest fires in Uttarakhand. The hill regions of three other states, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir have been affected as well.