Fires occur periodically at the end of the dry seasons, around February to March and September to October. In October 2020, a one-week fire destroyed 95 km² of the mountain area. Between October and November, 2022, the fire on Mt Kilimanjaro erupted near Karang Camp (4,000 m) and destroyed an area of 33 square kilometers and lasted for two weeks.  In September 2023, fire erupted on mount Kilimanjaro at Indonet-Rongai in Rombo District and the area of 17km² was damaged comprising 0.9% Mt Kilimanjaro. Depending on the extent of the fire, around 1,000 people from TANAPA, Tanzania Forest Service (TFS), national police force, firefighters, Tanzania People’s Defense Force (TPDF), college students, tour operators such as Altezza travel and local communities among other volunteers including two helicopters. Plants such as Tanzanian endemics Dendrosenecio kilimanjari (giant groundsel) and Lobelia deckenii, Bracken (Pteridium centrali-africanum), Gladiolus watsonioides (Mackinder's gladiolus), Myrica salicifolia shrub, Kniphofia thomsonii - the tallest of all kniphofia species, Erica, and other grasses, are most affected. Slow moving animals, such as reptiles and amphibians, including snakes, lizards, as well as rodents and miniature dik-dik antelopes are particularly affected by the fire.

According to Andreas Hemp, a research associate plant systematics, Bayreuth University, fire can transform the mountains land cover, but it also maintains it. The findings using pollen records buried in the soil for many years showed that fires always played a role in shaping the vegetation belts on the mountain. Some plant species, such as the giant groundsels (Dendrosenecio) became fire-adapted. Also, fires open the forests to allow many light demanding species, such as the giant lobelias to grow. Consequently, researchers need to collaborate to assess the extent human-induced climate change has altered the likelihood and intensity of the weather conditions at the time of the fires, and how the conditions will be affected with further warming. Secondly, capture the characteristics of this event, using a fire weather index that is used based on high wind speeds, high temperatures and low humidity. Controlling fire on Mt Kilimanjaro is very costly and requires specialized skills, uniforms, and equipment to create fire breaks in such a difficult terrain.

The risk of an increase in dangerous fire weather conditions attributable to human-induced climate change needs to be taken very seriously. A new El Niño event emerged in June 2023 and was experienced between October, 2023 and February 2024, northern Tanzania witnessed very high rainfall. This may explain why no fires were reported during the usually dry February – March period. While the persistent drought that has been witnessed in the SOKNOT landscape for three consecutive years may not be attributed to El Nino, it remains a threat to the conservation of vegetation and wildlife. During the drought season, for example, tree cover loss due to fires increased 3-fold on Mt Kilimanjaro while Amboseli ecosystem lost over 60 elephants in 2022.

Fire risk is increasing notably due to current land management practices with no buffer zone to cushion the park and illegal harvesting of honey in the park using traditional methods of open fire and settlements near the park boundary. The existing investments by TANAPA in fire prevention and adaptation measures, coupled with low-risk perception among local residents in fire-prone areas, have shown limited effectiveness in adequately mitigating the fire risk. A good relationship between the park authorities and local communities is critical for timely and effective fire control. The deadly flames, demands the development of a fireproofing program showcasing the life-saving potential of preparedness, including measures such as community-led support, ground to air intervention, modern firefighting equipment, and robust emergency training. Other measures should encompass improved enforcement; enhanced coordination, resource allocation, and community engagement in fire prevention and adaptation; and awareness raising campaigns.

Climate Change Is Making Fires Worse and how do we reduce this?
Climate change is one of the major drivers of increasing fire activity. Extreme heat waves are already 5 times more likely today than they were hundreds years ago and are expected to become even more frequent as the planet continues to warm. Hotter temperatures dry out the landscape and help create the perfect environment for larger, more frequent forest fires. This in turn leads to higher emissions from forest fires, further exacerbating climate change and contributing to more fires as part of a “fire-climate feedback loop.”

The causes of increasing forest fires are complex and vary by geography based  according to how to manage wildfires document and mitigate fire risk. However, there is no silver bullet solution. Climate change clearly plays an important role in driving more frequent and intense fires. Mitigating the worst impacts of climate change is still possible, but it will require rapid and significant transformations across all systems. Equally, improving forest resilience by ending illegal encroachment and forest degradation is key to preventing future fires, as is limiting nearby burning that can easily escape into forests, particularly during periods of drought. Recent data on fire-driven tree cover loss on Global Forest Watch, along with other fire monitoring data, can help track fire activity in both the long term and in near-real-time to identify trends and develop targeted, responses for Mt Kilimanjaro.
Substantial population — 3.8 million people — adjacent to Mt Kilimanjaro in both Tanzania and Kenya are highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, due to drying rivers and wetlands as a critical catchment and this figure is expected to rise with global temperatures.

Unfortunately, communities experiencing the most devastating impacts often lack the resources to protect themselves. According to the Paris Agreement, the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA), that aims to address this issue by increasing global support and ambition for climate change adaptation has never been effected but luckily, after an eight-year-long stalemate, this was finally defined and UAE Framework for Global Climate Resilience, new framework rolled out at the 2023 UN climate summit (COP28). Enhancing adaptation finance and support for developing countries is crucial. Always a key political issue — is who should pay for adaptation in developing countries, which are the least responsible for climate change but often bear its heaviest burden.