COVID-19 Lockdown and Forest Fires in the Times of Climate Change for the Mountainous States of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Seven Sister States of India: A Spatio-Temporal Interpretation (2012–2022)

Ravaging forest fires are a characteristic outcome of human activities of current times and are negative externalities for the forest ecosystems of the regions rich in forests as a natural resource. In India, the mountainous states of North and North-East India- Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Seven Sister States, aptly fit into both categories. Not only do they have an extensive forested area, but experience forest fires on a large scale. Besides, their geographical orientation makes these states more vulnerable to various natural disasters. However, conducting forest fires analysis is difficult on the ground due to the inaccessibility of the phenomena. The current is an attempt to examine the geographical dimensions of forest fire activity in these three regions in light of the COVID-19 lockdown period through remote sensing. This is to help in discovering the nature of forest fires and the role of limitation of human activity in the regions, as can be assumed herein also. The historical absence of human imprints during the period provides an unprecedented window of examination. With a retrospective analysis further, this can substantiate the outcomes in a strong manner. Results indicate that the COVID-19 lockdown period initiated a marked decline in the geographical extent of forest fire activity in the states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, while this was not at all observant for the Seven Sister States of North-East India. The results are useful in observing the spatio-temporal trends of the problem and also in checking the nature of these fires.