A Sirsi study found swamp forests stay cooler than the hills around them

The Hindu reported on November 4, 2026, that researchers at Kuvempu University found freshwater swamp forests in the central Western Ghats stay cooler and moister than the land around them. The work, guided by K. Yogendra, is part of research by Balachandra Hegde, who is from Sirsi in Uttara Kannada. The team compared four habitats around Sirsi: hilltops, forest edges, forest interiors, and swamps. They measured temperature, soil moisture, forest structure, the mix of species, and how much water the trees held.

Forests and swamps had greater tree density and canopy cover than hilltops and edges. In some comparisons, satellite land-surface temperatures differed from sensors inside the forest by roughly 3 to 10 degrees Celsius. The paper notes that the gap depends on place, time, and method, so an animal under the leaves may not be living at the temperature a satellite records. Yogendra said average weather figures usually come from satellites, while conditions in the Ghats change over short distances.

The researchers called swamp forests a microclimatic refuge: places that can still suit some species as the wider landscape warms. They asked for priority protection of Myristica and Elaeocarpus swamps, and for a monitoring network that records air temperature, soil moisture, rainfall, and canopy traits. They also said success should not be counted only in saplings planted or hectares of tree cover. The news is what this comparison measured around Sirsi. It does not say those swamps have been given new legal protection.