2.62 lakh incidents of forest fires recorded from 2016-18: Env Ministry

As many as 2.62 lakh incidents of forest fire have been reported from 2016-18, the Environment Ministry said on Monday. In response to a query in Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Babul Supriyo presented data according to which 1,17,402 forest fires were recorded in 2018, while 1,07,704 cases were reported in 2017 and 37,636 incidents in 2016.

In 2018 and 2017, the highest number of forest fires were reported in Odisha at 31,680 and 36,827, respectively, the data showed. In 2016, the highest number of incidents were recorded in Andhra Pradesh at 8,885.