Forest fire events are getting more extreme in terms of number, frequency, severity, and size in the Western Himalayan Region (WHR) of India over the past decade, thus heightening the need to comprehend its effect on regional air quality and climate. The large amount of smoke released during forest fires degrades the air quality at local and regional scales; also, exposure to smoke has been associated with a range of adverse health effects. Thus, the study zeroed in on three objectives: first to investigate the three major components of the fire regime namely fuel, topography, and meteorology over the WHR; second to analyse the smoke pattern and trajectory during fire season; and third to evaluate the surface PM_2.5 concentration and AOD 550 pre-, during, post-fire events. For the accomplishment of the first research objectives, analysis was carried out to examine the influence of the regional meteorological environment on the forest fire events over Uttarakhand, a state lying at the western Himalayan foothills of India. MODIS onboard Terra and Aqua, VIIRS onboard Suomi-NPP and NOAA-20 fire products (in Ultra Real-Time), and ERA5 meteorological data were used for the correlation analysis. The findings reveal that the number of forest fires occurrence peaks in June (1228) while drops in Feb (419) over Uttarakhand. During the study period, the intensity and frequency of fires events vary significantly with time and space across the region. Comparatively, the Kumaon Himalayas experienced more intense and larger forest fires than the Garhwal Himalayas. The fire occurrence is more frequent during the night-time.