UK firefighters have warned that 2025 is on track to beat the national record for wildfires, with frontline staff “pushed to their limits”.
On Wednesday, a major incident was declared in the North York Moors national park, with 20 fire engines deployed to tackle at least 5 sq km of moorland that has been burning since Monday.
It follows a similar major incident over the weekend tackled by Dorset and Wiltshire fire service and a blaze at Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh.
In England and Wales alone, crews have already tackled 856 wildfires this year, the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) said – a third higher than the record-breaking totals seen in 2022 and six times the number recorded last year – warning that hot and dry weather means the figures will likely only increase.
The NFCC warned members of the public not to use barbecues in open countryside, parks and moorland areas. In addition, the organisation advised people not to discard cigarettes, matches or glass bottles, as they can ignite dry vegetation.
The NFCC chair, Phil Garrigan, said firefighters were “already being pushed to their limits” with recent major incidents “showing just how demanding and dangerous these events can be”.
“Each wildfire can take days – sometimes weeks – to bring under control, tying up crews and specialist equipment and placing huge strain on other vital fire and rescue work. There’s a real human toll on our firefighters too who are undertaking the most arduous work in the toughest conditions.
“We are already seeing more wildfires at this point in the year than in 2022 – which itself was a record year – and that is deeply concerning. This is against a backdrop of sustained cuts in funding and reducing firefighter numbers – with 11,000 fewer firefighters in England now than there were 10 years ago, alongside a 20% increase in demand over the same period. Climate change is fuelling more frequent and intense extreme weather events, and wildfires are no longer a seasonal threat; they are a persistent and growing risk to life, property, and the environment.”
He called for “long-term, sustained investment so that fire and rescue services have the people, resources, and equipment they need to protect our communities, no matter how many fronts they are fighting on”.
Researchers say the sea surrounding the Yorkshire coast is likely to break temperature records in 2025.
Temperatures are 2C higher than in the 1980s, putting at risk some species that are a key part of the food chain.
Prof Rodney Forster, of the University of Hull, told the BBC the North Sea “appears to be a bit of a hot spot, warming faster than anywhere else and we don’t know yet why that is”.
