Satellite images show forest fires blackening Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh
Forest fires are sweeping through Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, leaving behind scorched hillsides and thick smoke.
Satellite images show major fire spots near Almora, Pauri, Nainital, Shimla, and Kinnaur. Around 400 hectares in Almora alone have burn scars.
Tourists heading to these hill stations are seeing firsthand how the fires have blackened slopes.
Uttarakhand 476 fires Himachal nearly 300
Between February and late May this year, Uttarakhand saw 476 forest fire incidents affecting over 400 hectares. Garhwal was hit hardest.
Himachal Pradesh reported nearly 300 fires just this year, most during the hot summer months.
The main culprits? heat waves, dry winds, and especially chir pine forests (according to a CSIR study, these pines cause over half of all wildfires here because their resin-filled needles catch fire easily).