Implications of forest fires on air quality – a perspective

Forest fires are significantly responsible for air pollution along with the greenhouse effects. Burning of biomass in forests results in the emission of toxic gases many of which have a long lifetime. These gases are transported from the place of their origin to several miles away, thus causing deterioration of the air quality in neighbouring areas too. In this paper, the problem of forest fires in India is discussed along with its implications over the air quality. The recent occurrence of forest fires in Uttarakhand was taken as an example to assess the impact over the air quality of the neighbouring areas, particularly Delhi. It was found that the pollutants concentration; mainly NO, NO 2 , CO, PM 10 , and PM 2.5 ; was increased significantly in Delhi during the fire period in Uttarakhand.