What happened
A forest fire in Punjab’s ecologically sensitive Kotli Sattian region burned an estimated 3,326.4 hectares (8,219.5 acres) of natural forest, shrub and grassland across 27 locations, according to a satellite assessment by the Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (Suparco).
The analysis, published on the government’s Space4Climate portal, compared satellite imagery from 9 May and 29 May 2026 and found extensive damage to the area’s Chir pine forests. It said many locations still had active fire spreading with strong, hot winds, while other sites showed the blaze being controlled by local residents and forest department staff, leaving visible burn scars on the satellite images.
The fire burned for two days, according to local accounts reported by Dawn, which quoted residents who described fighting flames among towering pine trees. The newspaper reported that locals believed the fire was human-induced. The Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination said the Kotli Sattian fire destroyed more than 3,000 hectares amid a heatwave.
Why it matters
Kotli Sattian is ecologically sensitive because the Murree-Kotli Sattian landscape is dominated by Chir pine forest, steep slopes and sub-watersheds linked to the Indus and Jhelum river basins. The forest area under the Punjab Forest Department’s jurisdiction covers about 27,653 acres, and Suparco said the affected tree, shrub and grass cover amounted to roughly 8,219.5 acres.
The ministry’s spokesperson, Mohammad Saleem, told Dawn the fire was not an isolated incident but a warning of a new climate reality, saying forest fires were increasingly becoming the “new normal” as rising temperatures, prolonged dry spells and recurrent heat waves create conditions for ignition and rapid spread. He pointed to research indicating Pakistan is a regional hotspot for increasingly severe and synchronised heat waves, and to World Resources Institute findings that forest fires now burn more than twice as much tree cover globally as they did two decades ago.
Environmentalists warned the damage extends beyond the burn scars: it disrupted the peak breeding season for birds and wildlife, destroyed seedlings and saplings, and opened the terrain to invasive, fire-tolerant grasses and shrubs. The fire followed an intense early-season heat spell, which KhabarWire reported here. Some fires had been contained by local communities and forest staff, but the assessment warned that active fires were continuing on neighbouring slopes.
Sources & reporting notes
This is a summary of published reporting and official satellite and ministry statements, not independent reporting. Details are as carried by the cited sources, which were reviewed on 2026-06-03.
- Space4Climate (Suparco) — "Massive Forest Fire Event in Kotli Sattian, Punjab"2 June 2026 · Official satellite assessment of the 3,326.4 hectares affected across 27 locations.
- Dawn — "Devastating fire decimates over 3,000 hectares of forest tree cover in Kotli Sattian"3 June 2026 · Reports residents' accounts, the ministry's warning and the ecological consequences.
- Pakistan Today — "Wildfire scorches more than 3,000 hectares of forest in Kotli Sattian"3 June 2026 · Summarises the satellite analysis and the forest and watershed context.
