The UK's wildfire wakeup call and the need for climate resilience

This summer's wildfires have left blackened scars across some of the UK's most treasured landscapes, stretched emergency services to the brink and prompted important questions about how prepared the country is for a hotter climate in a warming world. 

The scale and frequency of these incidents should serve as a warning. The UK's wildfire challenge is growing, driven by a combination of climate change, prolonged dry periods, rising temperatures and human ignition sources. The question now is not whether we face a heightened wildfire risk, but how we adapt to it. 

Across the UK, conservation organisations are already taking proactive steps to reduce the likelihood and impact of fires on the land they manage. This includes cutting firebreaks, removing high-risk vegetation and investing in monitoring and prevention measures. Alongside this work, there is also a growing focus on improving the long-term resilience of landscapes themselves. 

For decades, many of the UK's peatlands, heathlands and upland habitats have been degraded by drainage, pollution, burning, overgrazing and other historic pressures. These landscapes dry out more quickly during hot weather, making them more vulnerable to wildfire. Nature restoration projects aim to reverse that process by rewetting peatlands, restoring wetlands and improving the ability of the land to retain water. 

The logic is straightforward. Healthier, wetter landscapes are generally more resilient to fire than degraded, drier ones. 

But we must remember that no land management approach can eliminate wildfire risk entirely. Under extreme conditions, fires can affect almost any landscape. Recent years have seen major blazes affect peatland, heathland, woodland, farmland, public parks and grouse moors alike. 

However, restoring natural systems can help reduce the severity of fires and support faster recovery when they do occur. Wetlands and healthy peatlands can act as natural barriers, slowing the spread of flames and creating conditions that are less favourable for ignition. During recent fires in Suffolk, wetlands at RSPB Minsmere were described by fire crews as a "natural firebreak", demonstrating the practical value of restored habitats during extreme events. 

Nature restoration is about far more than wildlife conservation. It is about building resilience into the landscapes on which communities, businesses and public services also depend. 

An equally important part of the conversation concerns how wildfires begin. In the UK, they are overwhelmingly linked to human activity, from discarded cigarettes and disposable barbecues to fireworks and arson. Community awareness, enforcement, surveillance and action to promote responsible behaviour from those visiting remain among the most effective wildfire prevention measures available. 

Yet prevention alone will not be enough. Climate projections show that periods of prolonged heat and drought are likely to become more common. As they do, the risk of large and destructive wildfires will grow. 

The lessons from this summer's fires are clear. We need to continue to tackle climate change, including getting off fossil fuels.  And the UK's landscapes need to become more resilient to a hotter, drier future.  

We have spent decades preparing for threats such as flooding and coastal erosion, we now need to view wildfire through the same lens. And there may well be overlap in the approaches to those different threats, with common solutions available to tackle both flooding and fire together. 

That starts with making climate resilience a national mission. It can no longer be treated as a secondary consideration. It should be embedded across land management, infrastructure planning and environmental policy. 

It also means recognising nature as critical infrastructure. Healthy peatlands, functioning wetlands and resilient ecosystems store carbon, improve water quality, support biodiversity and help landscapes withstand climate shocks. Investment in nature restoration is an investment in national resilience. 

Finally, we must ensure Fire and Rescue Services have the resources, equipment and specialist training required to respond to increasingly complex wildfire incidents. 

Wildfires are fast becoming one of the defining environmental challenges facing the UK. Meeting that challenge will require cooperation, practical action and long-term thinking. By tackling climate change, investing in climate resilience, restoring nature and supporting frontline emergency services, we can better protect both people and places from the conditions that lie ahead.