Centre for Wildlife Studies research reveals fire activity increased in Eastern Ghats and Central India, but decreased in Western Ghats.

A 20-year satellite study by the Centre for Wildlife Studies (CWS), which tracked wildfire activity across 13 wildlife reserves in three ecologically distinct regions in peninsular India, has found that fire activity increased in the Eastern Ghats by approximately 9% a year and rose modestly in Central India, while declining significantly in the Western Ghats by approximately 11% a year.

The study, “Changing fire regimes in wildlife reserves of southern India: Trends, drivers, and conservation challenges,” published in Ecosphere was led by Narendran Kodandapani, and co-authored by Krithi K. Karanth.

According to CWS, the scientists analysed satellite-derived burned area data from NASA’s MODIS sensor, covering 2002 to 2022 across roughly 20,000 sq. km of protected forest in Central India, the Eastern, and the Western Ghats.

They combined this with climate records, including measures of drought and temperatures, along with human population density and forest cover loss data, and then used statistical models to identify which climate and human factors were most closely associated with year-to-year changes in burned area in each reserve.

The study said that in over two decades, approximately 16,667 sq. km burned across the 13 reserves, reflecting that some areas burned more than once.

Climate and human factors

CWS said that climate and human factors explained between 21 and 77% of annual fire activity across reserves. Drought conditions, measured through indicators such as climatic water deficit and the Palmer Drought Severity Index, were the primary drivers of fire activity in most reserves.

It said that human population density was also strongly associated with more frequent fires in Kawal Wildlife Sanctuary and Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve, where local communities use fire to help harvest forest products or improve grazing land.

In Nagarahole and Bandipur National Parks, by contrast, human activity was linked to less fires, which the authors attribute to land-use change and active fire suppression by the Forest Department.

Extreme wildlife events

The authors noted that separate research ranked the Eastern Ghats among the five most extreme wildfire events recorded globally during the 2023-2024 fire season, highlighting the scale of the changes documented in this study.

“Fires in these landscapes are closely tied to how communities use forest resources,” CWS said.

Dr. Kodandapani, lead author of the study, said that wildfires are ubiquitous across various eco-regions of India. “However, each region is characterised by variation in trends, drivers, and ecological challenges. Integrated fire management that accounts for climate, vegetation, and human factors is important for fire management and policy in Indian ecosystems” said Dr. Kodandapani.