Western Himalayas face escalating forest fires across Himachal and Uttarakhand
Forest fires are hitting the Western Himalayas hard this year.
On Wednesday, a big blaze broke out in Himachal Pradesh's Solan district and quickly spread through hilly areas.
Uttarakhand isn't far behind: nearly 400 fires have scorched over 330 hectares there this season.
Dry weather and rising temperatures are making things worse, with more than 100 forest fire incidents reported earlier this year across multiple forest circles in Himachal Pradesh.
Chir pine flammability and human causes
Chir pine forests dominate the lower Himalayas, but their resin-filled needles make them super flammable.
Officials say almost all these fires start because of human actions, sometimes by accident, sometimes on purpose.
Old colonial-era policies swapped out oak forests for chir pine, which only made things riskier.
Climate change is turning up the heat too, so experts stress that bringing back more diverse forests and better management is key to stopping these disasters from repeating every year.