UK may be on track to see worst year for wildfires, figures show

The UK may be on track to see its worst year for wildfires, data shows.

As of Monday there have been 115 blazes and an area of more than 95 square miles (24,890 hectares) has been scorched since January 1, according to European Forest Fire Information System figures.

It means 2025 is already the second worst year on record by area burned and number of fires.

Only 2019 was worse for area burned (28,754 hectares) and 2022 for the number of fires (151).

The satellite data shows that the UK has seen more fires from January to April, compared with the same period in 2024, and is higher than expected for the time of year.

Fuel

It also reveals that in the last week there have been more blazes in the country compared with other parts of Europe experiencing similar weather conditions.

The Met Office said the fires are due to dry and breezy conditions in spring which came after a damp winter, meaning there was ‘fuel’ for the blazes because of plant growth.

Further dry conditions could make 2025 the worst year for wildfires.

The National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) said fire and rescue services in Wales and England have responded to 411 wildfires so far this year – more than double the number for the same period in 2022 (189).

An NFCC spokesman said: “These figures paint a concerning picture about the growing incident rate of wildfires in the UK.

“Fire and rescue services across the UK stand ready and prepared to respond to wildfires and keep communities safe.

‘However, responding to wildfires requires a lot of resource and often over long periods of time, which puts pressure on other fire and rescue service activities.”

Extreme

“Increasing extreme weather events mean there is a rising demand on fire and rescue services and that must be met with long-term and sustained investment. This is central to ensuring we can continue to keep our communities safe.”

A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said: “We recognise that the impact of climate change on weather is likely to increase and intensify fires.

‘We have given fire and rescue authorities almost £3 billion in the last financial year to help firefighters protect our local communities, with further funding to be set out soon.

‘We are also funding a National Resilience Wildfire Advisor to assess national wildfire capabilities so we can increase resilience to wildfire risk and will continue to work closely with stakeholders to ensure services have the resources they need.”