Forest Fires: Causes, Effects and Prevention

Forest fire causes fall into two groups: natural and human. Lightning, heat and long dry spells can start or spread a fire. Far more often, though, people start it, through carelessness or on purpose. Dry litter, wind and low humidity then decide how far the flames travel.

Fire is one of the biggest threats to forests, alongside clearing for farms and towns. Our main guide on why forests are important explains what we lose when forests burn. This article focuses on how fires start, what harm they do and how they can be stopped.

What is a forest fire?

A forest fire (also called a wildfire) is a fire that spreads without control through forest vegetation. Any fire needs three things: fuel (dry wood, leaves, grass), oxygen (from the air) and heat (a spark or flame). These three form the fire triangle. Remove any one, and the fire dies.

Forest fires are commonly grouped by the layer they burn:

• Surface fires burn the forest floor: fallen leaves, twigs, grass and small shrubs.
• Ground fires smoulder below the surface in thick humus or peat, often slowly and for a long time.
• Crown fires leap through the tops of trees. They are the fastest and hardest to control.

According to ISFR 2023, India mainly experiences surface fires confined to the forest floor. Their intensity and frequency vary with the build-up of dry fuel, long droughts and local conditions.

What causes forest fires?

The question “what causes wildfires?” has a short answer: a source of heat meets dry fuel. The heat can come from nature or from people. NCERT’s earlier Class 8 book, Resources and Development, lists three reasons for forest fires:

1. Natural fire, for example from lightning.
2. Fire from heat generated in litter because of people’s carelessness.
3. Fire deliberately caused by local inhabitants, mischief makers or miscreants.

Natural causes of forest fires

Lightning is the main natural cause. The US National Park Service explains that fires are usually started by unusually long-lasting “hot lightning” bolts. These carry a lower voltage than “cold lightning” but last longer, so they heat fuel enough to ignite it.

Weather does not light a fire by itself, but it sets the stage. ISFR 2023 says fire risk rises with low rainfall, strong winds, low humidity and high temperatures. It adds that dry winters and delayed monsoons lead to more fires and greater damage. Under such conditions, a small spark can grow into a large blaze.

Human causes of forest fires

People cause far more fires than nature does. According to the US National Park Service, using 2000-2017 data, nearly 85 per cent of wildland fires in the United States are human-caused. It names unattended campfires, burning of debris, equipment use and faults, carelessly thrown cigarettes and arson as the usual sources.

India shows the same pattern. ISFR 2023 states that most fires in the country, intentional or accidental, are caused by human activities. Detections fell from 2,10,286 in the 2018-19 season to 1,24,473 in 2019-20. ISFR 2023 links this dip to reduced human movement in and around forests during the COVID-19 pandemic. The fall did not last: its annexure records 3,45,989 detections in 2020-21.

What are the main reasons for forest fires in India?

Several local practices make Indian forests especially fire-prone. ISFR 2023 highlights these:

• Collecting forest produce. In central, northern and eastern India, gathering tendu leaves and mahua flowers is a significant contributor to fires, according to ISFR 2023.
• Shifting cultivation. Farmers slash and burn forest patches to grow crops. ISFR 2023 cites an estimate that about 4.35 million hectares across India is affected by fires linked to this practice.
• Jhum in the North-East. Shifting cultivation is called jhum there. Shorter jhum cycles mean large areas are burnt more often.
• Dry forest types. Severe fires are common in dry deciduous forests. Evergreen, semi-evergreen and montane temperate forests are less likely to burn.

ISFR 2023, quoting the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), groups India’s forest fires into four broad clusters:

Many of these fires begin with land being burnt for farming. Our guide to deforestation: meaning and causes explains how farming, grazing and other land uses also eat into forests.

When is the forest fire season in India?

FSI tracks fires over a season running from November to June. Satellite detections build up through the dry months before the monsoon. ISFR 2023 describes 8 February to 30 June 2024 as the peak fire season of that year.

According to ISFR 2023, the SNPP-VIIRS satellite sensor detected 2,03,544 fire hotspots in the 2023-24 season. That was lower than 2,23,333 in 2021-22 and 2,12,249 in 2022-23. The top three states for detections in 2023-24 were:

How much of India’s forest is fire-prone?

FSI studied seven years of satellite detections (2017-2023) to map fire-prone areas. ISFR 2023 reports that about 11.34% of India’s forest cover and scrub lies in extremely to very highly fire-prone zones. Parts of Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura showed the highest tendency to burn.

What are the harmful effects of forest fires?

Fire has some uses in nature, but ISFR 2023 says its losses far outweigh its benefits. The report measures damage through loss of timber, carbon, non-wood forest produce, small plants and animals, and habitat. It also counts the harm to people who depend on forest resources.

Effects on trees and soil

Fire kills seedlings and young trees and scars older trunks, letting in pests and disease. Repeated fires stop the forest from regenerating, so it slowly thins into scrub. The burnt forest floor loses its protective layer of litter. Rain then washes away the exposed topsoil, along with its nutrients.

Effects on wildlife and biodiversity

Animals that cannot run or fly fast enough die in the flames or smoke. Birds lose nests, eggs and chicks. Survivors face a burnt landscape with little food or shelter. ISFR 2023 notes that fires change both the habitat and the mix of species living in it.

Effects on air, climate and health

Burning wood releases smoke, ash and carbon dioxide. ISFR 2023 cites the IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report (2014) for the global picture. That report puts forest fire emissions at 2.5 billion to 4.0 billion tons of carbon dioxide a year. It also gives an older estimate of 2,60,000 to 6,00,000 premature deaths a year linked to smoke from landscape fires. More warming then brings hotter, drier weather and still more fires.

Effects on people and livelihoods

Fires can burn homes, crops and roads near forests. NCERT’s Class 9 textbook Understanding Society: India and Beyond notes that forest fires spread quickly through dense vegetation and destroy homes and resources. Families who sell firewood, honey, leaves or bamboo lose their income. ISFR 2023 lists human deaths, lower productivity, damaged landscapes and disturbed livelihoods among the results.

Fire also weakens the free services forests give us, such as clean water and soil protection. Read forest ecosystem services to see each one, and effects of deforestation on the environment for the damage caused when tree cover disappears altogether.

How big is the forest fire problem worldwide?

Fire is a global issue, not just an Indian one. FAO’s Global Forest Resources Assessment 2025 gives the scale. Between 2007 and 2019, fires burnt 261 million hectares of land in an average year. Forest made up 49 per cent of that burnt land. The 2019 figure for forest alone was about 123 million hectares, with 79 per cent of it in the subtropics.

How can forest fires be prevented and controlled?

NCERT’s earlier Class 8 book gives two key control measures. The first is prevention through education. The second is quick detection through a network of observation points, ground patrols and good communication. Modern India adds satellites to this list.

Early warning by the Forest Survey of India

FSI has alerted State Forest Departments about fires using satellites since 2004. SMS alerts began in 2008. Today the system sends near real-time alerts from the MODIS and SNPP-VIIRS sensors. It also tracks large fires and issues weekly pre-fire alerts for areas with extreme or very high fire danger.

According to ISFR 2023, anyone can subscribe to these alerts free of cost. Subscribers rose from 1,31,102 at the end of the 2020-21 season to 3,07,137 by the end of 2023-24. In the 2023-24 season, more than 112.67 lakh SMS alerts were sent. The Van Agni geo-portal shows the same fire data on an interactive map.

National planning

NDMA’s National Disaster Management Plan 2019 includes forest fires among the disasters it covers. NDMA and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change then prepared the National Programme on Forest Fire Management. Its aim is to make India’s forests more resilient to future fires.

What can individuals do?

• Never leave a campfire, stove or cooking fire burning. Put it out fully with water and soil.
• Do not throw matches or cigarette ends near dry grass or leaves.
• Avoid burning crop waste or garbage near forest edges, especially in summer.
• Report smoke or flames at once to the forest department or local authorities.
• Support village fire watches and community forest protection.

Community action matters a great deal, since people start most fires. Our guide to forest conservation methods shows how villages and forest departments protect forests together.

Sources

• India State of Forest Report 2023, Volume I, Chapter 4 “Forest Fire” (Forest Survey of India)
• Global Forest Resources Assessment 2025: Key findings (FAO, 2025)
• Wildfire Causes and Evaluations (US National Park Service)
• NCERT Class 8, Resources and Development, Ch. 2 “Land, Soil, Water, Natural Vegetation and Wildlife Resources”
• NCERT Class 9, Understanding Society: India and Beyond (Part II), Ch. 2 “Life on Earth”