Fire risk assessment along the climate, vegetation type variability over the part of Asian region: a geospatial approach

Abstract

In the present study, we evaluated the long term MODIS fire counts with the grid spacing 1° × 1° over the part of continent of Asia. The grid show high percent of fire events was assigned to high risk grid. The study further evaluated three selected 2 × 2 window representing the risk grid. We have analyzed the fire events along various vegetation types as well as country boundary. The climate data set is further analyzed and statistical analysis was performed to understand the relationship with fire events. The first selected 2 × 2 window grid roughly represents over region of Punjab and Haryana state of India show 83% of total fire in the month of October and November due to agricultural residues burning. The result of the analysis of vegetation types with fire events manifest the vegetation types dominated by shifting cultivation which occupies the geographical area of 8% whereas they retain fire percent equivalent of 30% of total fire events. Country based fire events analysis shows that Burma fire events per unit geographical area were found roughly 3.5 times higher when compared with India. The analysis of fire events and climate data from February to July in grids over a part of the Asian region (central part of India) exhibit the 50% fire events was in the month of March with maximum temperature (°C), precipitation (mm) and solar radiation (KJ/m2/day) with range of (26.7–35.9), (6–26) and (22680–24366) respectively. The evaluation of Crammer’s V coefficient (CVC) values of precipitation, mean maximum temperature and solar radiation are found in decreasing order and in the range of 0.77–0.31. The highest CVC value of precipitation (0.77) shows that among all other climatic parameters the precipitation has very strong relationship to fire events. Remote sensing data (fire and climate) when coupled with various analyses in GIS domain reflect better understanding of their relationship which will greatly help in management/planning/ making strategy on fire prevention/control.