Three army personnel, who were critically injured while dousing a fire raging in Tipla Masta Bhawani Community Forest of Thuli Bheri Municipality in Dolpa district on Monday, died in the course of treatment. The health condition of a fourth soldier injured in the incident is critical.

He has been receiving intensive care at Kirtipur Hospital, the Nepal Army said in a statement.

The number of people who succumbed to fire and forest fire related incidents last year was 113.

According to the Nepal Disaster Risk Reduction Portal of the Ministry of Home Affairs, 46 men and 57 women died in fire related incidents in the past year. The number of people who died in forest fires was eight in the year. As many as 33 people have been injured and properties worth over Rs2.4 billion have been gutted in fire-related incidents.

The army said that 12,500 personnel were deployed to control forest fires across the country in the current Nepali year 2080. Besides, personnel of the Armed Police Force, Nepal Police and local people have been also risking lives to douse forest fires.

Officials at the Ministry of Home Affairs said that 325 incidents of forest fire were recorded in 51 districts across the country on Wednesday. Since January this year 1,441 forest fire incidents have been recorded throughout the country.

“Forests in the districts adjoining the Kathmandu valley are also burning, making the Valley’s air toxic,” said Sundar Sharma, a forest fire expert. “Except in the mountainous region, people across the country are living in gas chamber-like conditions.”

The air quality in Kathmandu Valley has been worsening since Sunday due to the rise in forest fires across the country. According to IQAIR, a Swiss group that collects real-time air-quality data from around the globe, particulate matter pollution (PM2.5) levels of the Valley on Sunday reached hazardous levels—413 micrograms per cubic metre—making the national capital the most polluted city in the world.

The air quality had slightly improved but remained concerning with PM2.5 at 250 micrograms per cubic metre on Monday, 223 micrograms per cubic metre on Tuesday, a very unhealthy level, and 173—an unhealthy level—on Wednesday.

PM2.5 refers to particulate matter or solid and liquid droplets in the air that are less than 2.5 micrometres, or 400th of a millimetre, in diameter. As per the United States Environment Protection Agency’s air quality index, when air pollutant PM2.5 exceeds 300 μg/m3, the level is considered ‘hazardous’ for everyone and may prompt emergency condition alerts. When air pollutant PM2.5 reaches 201 to 300 μg/m3, air quality is considered very unhealthy; everyone may experience problems, with sensitive groups experiencing more severe effects.

Experts say forest fires in the surrounding districts are mainly responsible for the deterioration in air quality in the Valley.

Wildfires, common during the dry season, peak during April-May in Nepal. The majority of the country’s forests—community protected and others—burn every year.

Experts say that incidents of forest fires are likely to increase in the coming days due to ongoing dry conditions and a low chance of heavy precipitation in the next few days.

Nepal’s valuable forests, which took more than six decades to restore, face a worsening wildfire reality with scarce resources and nearly zero strategies to prevent or fight it. The country has increased forest coverage by 45 percent from around 41 percent in 2019. However, growing incidents of forest fires threaten progress, according to experts.

They ask the authorities concerned to launch an awareness drive about the risk of forest fires, and urge people not to go to forests if there is an out-of-control blaze and the wind blows from all directions.

Wildfires also threaten lives and livelihoods, ecology, and the environment, according to experts.

“Strengthening local governments, imparting training to local residents, providing them with necessary kits to deal with fire incidents, and building artificial ponds are among the ways to deal with fires,” said Sharma. “Raising awareness of the consequences of deliberately causing forest fires, and penalising those responsible could significantly reduce such incidents. We should also make people aware of the dangers of putting out fires.”

Humans are responsible for almost all incidents of forest fire in our country and over 60 percent of fire incidents are intentional, according to studies.