Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

Wildfires are raging in Nepal — climate change isn’t the only culprit

Fire predictions pushed to locals’ smartphones could save forests, and lives, say researchers.
  1. Saugat Bolakhe

    1. Saugat Bolakhe is a freelance science journalist based in Washington DC.

    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed  Google Scholar

Local residents react to a flare of flame above the roof of a building illuminating the night sky.

Firefighters, police officers and local residents try to extinguish a wildfire near the village of Lubhu in Lalitpur district, on the outskirts of Kathmandu, overnight on 1 May 2024. Credit: Prakash Mathema/AFP via Getty

Nepal’s wildfires are increasing in frequency and intensity, but it’s not just climate change to blame. Forest scientists say that Nepalis’ changing relationship with forests is also escalating the incidence of forest fire, but that better fire prediction and preparedness could minimize harm.

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-01758-2

Updates & Corrections

  • Correction 05 July 2024: Binod Pokharel’s name was spelt incorrectly in a previous version of this article.

References

  1. Pokharel, B. et al. Clim. Change 176, 17 (2023).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Subjects

Latest on:

Nature Careers

Jobs

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing

Search

Advanced search

Quick links