The UK needs to wake up to the growing threat of wildfires

‘This is one of these things that is going to catch us out unless we get prepared for it,’ leading British climate scientist tells Zoe Tidman

Firefighters tackle the blaze at Wareham Forest in May 2020 (Getty Images)

The climate crisis is often thought of in terms of flooding, heatwaves and eroding coastline in the UK. Wildfires, while famously destructive in Australia and the US, are not so common in Britain.

This will change, scientists are warning, as warmer temperatures bring the prospect of blazes closer to home.

That isn’t to say they do not already happen. Just this weekend, a large blaze broke out across a heathland in Dorset. And last month, a major incident was declared as a wildfire raged across Dartmoor National Park.

“We do get smallish wildfires now and again. Obviously, we have had some in recent days,” Richard Betts, a leading British climate scientist, tells The Independent.

But he adds: “It’s not really something that is on our radar in the same way that it is in places that get a lot of fire like Australia and California.”

Smoke from raging wildfires is destroying the ozone layer (Reuters)

Both these frequently experience wildfires that ravage landscapes and leave a trail of destruction behind.

In California, millions of acres of land and thousands of buildings are razed every year. Australia, known for its bushfire season, had a particularly devastating one in 2019 to 2020, where 36 people were killed and hundreds more died indirectly from smoke inhalation.

In California, millions of acres of land and thousands of buildings are razed every year (AP)

So when United Nations scientists warn of the “rising threat” of wildfires due to the climate crisis, they may be the first places that come to mind.

But Mr Betts, a lead author in the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, says the UK will also face an increased risk of wildfires in a hotter, drier climate, “which means we have to be more careful”.

The climate scientist, who works for the Met Office and the University of Exeter, says he used to be based in Australia, where the threat of wildfires is ingrained in society.

One example is houses next to woodland. “In Australia, that would be regarded as a massive fire risk and we just don't think about it in this country,” Mr Betts says.

“So my point is, this is one of these things that is going to catch us out unless we get prepared for it.”

Other scientists have warned about the increasing threat of wildfires in the UK with the climate crisis. Last year, University of Reading researchers said the risk will significantly increase across southern and eastern England over the coming decades – and once-in-a-century events could end up happening most years.

“We're going to have to adapt our ways of life and be more aware of the risk of wildfires,” Mr Betts says.