In the winter season, when the Himalayas should be covered with a white blanket of snow, fires are now blazing fiercely. A terrible wildfire has spread across the vast forest areas adjacent to Uttarakhand's world-famous Valley of Flowers and Nanda Devi National Park. The situation is so critical that Indian Air Force helicopters have been deployed to bring the fire under control. The wildfire has spread across such a large area that the blazing flames are visible even from space.
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Dry winter conditions worsen the situation
The fire began at the start of January. Meteorologists and forest department officials have reported that this winter, there has been virtually no snowfall or rain in this part of the Himalayas. Due to this severe dryness, the forest soil and vegetation have dried up and essentially turned into piles of gunpowder. As a result, the wildfire is rapidly spreading in the remote mountainous areas.
The Forest Survey of India has already issued more than 1,600 alerts for Uttarakhand.
Climate change blamed for growing wildfire risk
According to environmentalists, due to climate change, winters are becoming increasingly warm and dry. This is the main cause of such wildfires. They have reported that this fire has threatened the Himalayas' invaluable biodiversity. Along with this, the risk of soil erosion and landslides has also increased manifold.
This image was captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission
Fire visible in satellite images from space
The terrible nature of this fire has also been captured in European satellite imagery. The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission has taken a picture of Uttarakhand's wildfire from space. The image is from December 9, 2025.
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However, the situation has not changed much in January 2026. Rather, some parts of the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve have also been newly affected by intense wildfires.
