Cavalier India Defence Training Academy

This year, roughly a quarter of the vast Pantanal wetland in Brazil , one of the most biodiverse places on Earth, has burned in wildfires worsened by climate change. Fires between the cities of Miranda e Corumbá. Image by Chico Ribeiro/Governo MT. A fire has been burning in the world’s largest tropical wetlands, the Pantanal, since mid-July . The Pantanal wetlands, situated in west-central Brazil , sprawls over more than 1,50,000 sq km and also extends into Bolivia and Paraguay. The Pantanal derives its name from the Portuguese word for 'swamp'. The unprecedented fires in the wetland have attracted less attention than blazes in Australia, the Western United States and the Amazon, its northern sibling. But while the Pantanal is not a global household name, tourists in the know flock there because it is home to exceptionally high concentrations of breathtaking wildlife: Jaguars, tapirs, caymans,  endangered giant otters and bright blue hyacinth macaws. Indigenous people wa...

Representative image. (AFP Photo) The Indian Air Force is ready to assist the Forest department by offering helicopter service, in case of any forest fire incidents, during the summer ahead. Air Marshal T D Joseph, Indian Air Force, has written a letter to T M Vijay Bhaskar, Chief Secretary, Government of Karnataka, in this regard recently. In the letter, he has assured that the assets of the Air Force would be readily available as has been the precedence, to provide all assistance to the Government of Karnataka in tackling forest fires. Bandipur Project Tiger director T Balachandra told DH, the army helicopter from Coimbatore, would come to our rescue if a wildfire is spotted at Bandipur, Nagarahole, BRT, Male Mahadeshwara Wildlife Sanctuary and other places.  Source : Deccan Herald