Sanju Maharjan

The forest fire in Nepal has become a serious concern these days. The layer of smog covering up the places near such fires has polluted the whole area. A couple of days back, the government had even decided to give a four-day holiday to schools and other educational institutions in view of the polluted environment.
According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, some five people have died so far while trying to put out the fires that have been raging in different parts of the country since January. An estimated 500 active forest fires have been reported in the country. This has been the worst fire season by number since 2012. The air quality has reached its hazardous levels due to such fires in numerous places at the same time.
Forest fires often erupt in Nepal during the January-May dry season, when villagers burn dry leaves in the woodlands to prompt fresh grass growth for their cattle. The main reason for this year’s disaster is the extended winter drought, with precipitation in the central Nepal at only 10 per cent, and the dry spell stretching into spring. Studies have shown that climate-related droughts did contribute to last year’s devastating fires in California and Australia as well.
Kathmandu even got a bad name for topping the list of the world’s most polluted cities. Though these rankings might be misleading, the fact that the air inside the valley is polluted cannot be ignored since these are visible with our naked eyes too. People have complained of stinging eyes, headaches and breathing difficulties because of the degrading air condition. Personally, I have also faced this while travelling. The masks are getting dirty within a few hours of wearing because of the alarmingly growing level of pollution.
Currently, forest fire is another major issue tagged along with the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic that Nepal has to suffer. People might get affected more with skin problems and allergies rather than the virus. Some people even joke about the coronavirus not being able to survive in this polluted environment. The environment was cleaner during the lockdown. It was because of a significant drop in the level of vehicular emission. But now the environment has gotten so polluted because of these vehicles and the forest fires have served as a fuel to the environment for pollution.
The government as well as the non-state actors like NGOs, civil society and the media should be involved in creating massive public awareness of the hazards being created by forest fires.
Such forest fires might help to grow new leaves to the trees. But the fires are causing much more damage to the environment. So, one benefit is causing a number of problems to a huge number of people.
Most of these forest fires are artificial rather than natural. Analysing the current situation, maybe if the people stop setting forests on fire, the problem might be subsided. Otherwise, the only solution to this problem is adequate rainfall that can help put down these fires in a number of places. But the rain we are getting now is like a few drops of water in the volcanoes.