ANNOUNCEMENTS
With the aggravating climatic effects experienced all around the world, the incidences of forest fires are witnessing a sharp rise. Wildfires pose a threat to the global forest ecosystems and the communities that depend on these forest ecosystems for their livelihood. The Uttarakhand state of India is one such region witnessing an unprecedented rise in forest fire incidents, causing profound trouble to the local livelihoods. With the disastrous impacts of climate change, the already challenging conditions of these communities question the easy and comfortable sustenance in the Himalayan region. The high exposure to climatic variations such as increasing frequency of wildfires, rising heat and temperature, rainfall variations, and increasing incidences of landslides has escalated the losses in agriculture production, thus causing people to abandon it. The problems are multiplied with the rise in sensitivity due to the water shortage, especially during the summers, and lacking health infrastructure in the area. Besides that, low-income levels, low literacy rates, lack of asset ownership, lack of modifications in agriculture, and lack of awareness challenge the adaptations necessary during climate extremes. All these factors correspond to the rising vulnerability of the communities to the wildfires in the region, which are only expected to aggravate if the necessary actions are ignored to uplift the societies and maintain sustainable progress.
Keywords: Climate change, wildfires, forest fires, exposure, sensitivity, adaptive capacity, Uttarakhand.
