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The number of forest fires in the United Kingdom has climbed above the historical average while firefighters are fighting through Scotland and Northern Ireland.
A fire in Galloway, Scotland, so intense that it could be seen from space and which started Thursday before spreading in the east of Ayrshire, was mastered by 100 firefighters and helicopters with water bombing.
Firefighters still attended a separate epidemic on Monday north of Ullapool in the Highlands.
In Northern Ireland, the authorities have treated more than 140 forest fires since Thursday, with a major incident declared over the weekend due to a large fire in the mountains of Morne.
During the year to date, the cumulative weekly number of fire in the United Kingdom has increased to 48, against the long-term average of 15 during the period 2006-2024, but below the historic summit of 136, according to the information system on fires in the European forest (EFPIS).
The Copernicus Effis program does not distinguish between wild lands and managed fires.
The National Fireman's National Council of the United Kingdom, warning that climate change stimulates extreme weather events such as forest fire activity, has brought 286 incidents in England and Wales to date.
There were 100 fires more than in 2022, when high temperatures sparked an “unprecedented forest activity”, and in 2023, which was more humid.
“The climate is changing, which makes the risk of forest fires,” said Katrina Candy, director of The Heather Trust, a Moorland charitable organization. “So we need reasonable planning.”
In Scotland, firefighters treat an average of around 170 forest fires per year, according to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, with 80% of the historical incidents that occurred between March and May.
The SFRS said on Monday that it expected to issue another forest fire warning this week, urging people to be wary when it turns off cigarettes or outside kitchen.
The combination of warmer and drier and warmer winter and warmer winters associated with climate change increases the risk of forest fires, according to climatologists.
The United Kingdom has been dry without season in recent months, increasing temperatures leaving land in certain dry areas.
Michael Bruce, Managing Director of Firebreak Services, said that long -term weather forecasts have suggested a more prolonged than usual spring shooting season.
The weather conditions that prevailed, with icy nights followed by sunny days, provided a particular danger, he added. “These are the most drying conditions, thus increasing the chances of an ignition force connecting with the available fuel,” he said.
Ed Hawkins, of the National Center for Atmospheric Science from the University of Reading, said that the risk of forest fires, while Low, increased with climate change.
“When we get drought spells like in recent weeks, the conditions are also warmer, which increases the risk of forest fires,” he said. “We will all have to learn to pay more attention to avoiding accidental fire contacts in hot and dry conditions.”
Some experts identify the evolution of land use models like any other factor that leads to forest fires, especially in Scotland, where growing land stretches are rewinded for aesthetic purposes or to grow trees and restore commercially peat bogs for carbon credits.
The controlled burn of the Landes vegetation, known in Scotland under the name of Muirburn, was historically used to promote tetrans for sport and also manages the risk of forest fire, according to its supporters. According to the James Hutton Institute, around 96% of fires occur outside the managed moors.
But Max Wisznnetski of the revive Coalition, which campaigns for the Reformation of the Landes of Gélinois, said that Muirburn had brought a risk of fire which becomes uncontrollable, arguing that the strategically reconstruction of the field would be a better solution in the longer term to fight forest fires.
“When there is an increase in vegetation that is not managed in a traditional way, there is a risk,” said Candy.
Rural landowners should work with neighbors to establish forest fire management plans, including buffer areas, fire breakfasts and emergency access plans, she said.
“We will see more and more that as climate change, so it is essential to have a plan to deal with the increased risk,” she added.
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