{"id":157630,"date":"2021-08-17T18:40:51","date_gmt":"2021-08-17T16:40:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=157630"},"modified":"2021-08-17T18:40:52","modified_gmt":"2021-08-17T16:40:52","slug":"uk-wildfire-trends","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=157630","title":{"rendered":"UK Wildfire Trends"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By Paul Homewood<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/0Marsden-Fire-640x356-1.jpg?resize=723%2C402&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-157632\" width=\"723\" height=\"402\" title=\"Marsden Fire\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>As everybody knows, wildfires are getting worse. After all it\u2019s obvious, innit? Heatwaves, droughts and all that.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Well that\u2019s what we\u2019re told, but what are the facts as far as the UK is concerned?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>The Committee on Climate Change included these two graphs in their report on the indicators of climate-related risks two months ago:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/0image_thumb-109.png?resize=723%2C552&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-157633\" width=\"723\" height=\"552\" title=\"image\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/0image_thumb-110.png?resize=723%2C494&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-157634\" width=\"723\" height=\"494\" title=\"image\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-climate-change-committee wp-block-embed-climate-change-committee\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"YNvJNQVmwB\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theccc.org.uk\/publication\/research-to-review-and-update-indicators-of-climate-related-risks-and-actions-in-england-adas\/\">Research to review and update indicators of climate-related risks and actions in England (ADAS)<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);\" title=\"&#8220;Research to review and update indicators of climate-related risks and actions in England (ADAS)&#8221; &#8212; Climate Change Committee\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theccc.org.uk\/publication\/research-to-review-and-update-indicators-of-climate-related-risks-and-actions-in-england-adas\/embed\/#?secret=jaiGx1p3ch#?secret=YNvJNQVmwB\" data-secret=\"YNvJNQVmwB\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It is a bit of a mixed bag, but the second chart appears to back up claims that things are getting much worse. We can see on both graphs that the vast majority of fire acreage is on moorland rather than forestry. This is not surprising as the moorland areas tend to be much greater and have the added factor of peat bogs, which are very difficult to put out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The CCC also point out that the second set is not as robust as the Forestry Commission data. Also the second chart is for the whole of the UK, whereas the first is just for England.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The overall impression though is that wildfires are a minor issue in the vast majority of years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If we look at woodlands only, there is no trend at all, merely an outlier in 2010. The data period is unfortunately short because the Forestry Commission previously only collected data for the UK as a whole, and then only for a handful of years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/0image_thumb-111.png?resize=723%2C445&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-157635\" width=\"723\" height=\"445\" title=\"image\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/publications\/forestry-commission-england-wildfire-statistics-for-england-2009-10-to-2016-17\">https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/publications\/forestry-commission-england-wildfire-statistics-for-england-2009-10-to-2016-17<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The problem clearly centres around moorland fires. Here we see the impact of the hot summer of 2018 and the dry spring in the following year. It is easy to see how fire fighters can say they have never seen anything like it, because fire years like those are rare. But are they the result of climate change?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Let\u2019s first look at spring, often a time for wildfires as the vegetation is still dry from winter. Spring 2019 saw the massive fires in Morayshire and Sutherland, but rainfall was actually above average then. More importantly, there is no trend towards drier springs:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/0image_thumb-112.png?resize=723%2C434&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-157636\" width=\"723\" height=\"434\" title=\"image\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the summer of 2018, we had the Saddleworth Moor fire. But again the summer was far from being the driest on record, and summers also appear to be getting wetter rather than drier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/0image_thumb-113.png?resize=723%2C440&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-157637\" width=\"723\" height=\"440\" title=\"image\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Every fire needs a spark, and there is abundant evidence that most fires are caused by humans, accidental or otherwise. With the public nowadays having unprecedented access to the moors, we are going to see many more fires like these, climate change or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">via<strong><em><span class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color\"> NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ift.tt\/37SFWsF\">https:\/\/ift.tt\/37SFWsF<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">August 17, 2021&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Paul Homewood As everybody knows, wildfires are getting worse. After all it\u2019s obvious, innit? Heatwaves, droughts and all that. Well that\u2019s what we\u2019re told, but what are the facts as far as the UK is concerned? The Committee on Climate Change included these two graphs in their report on the indicators of climate-related risks [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-157630","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","has-post-thumbnail","fallback-thumbnail"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-F0q","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":408952,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=408952","url_meta":{"origin":157630,"position":0},"title":"Wildfires Below Average Last Year\u2013Met Office Says Global Warming Has Made Them\u00a0Worse!","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"18\/10\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The Met Office are no longer a serious, scientific organisation, but a political one:","rel":"","context":"In \"Climate change\"","block_context":{"text":"Climate change","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=climate-change"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/AQMF2RC5Jjji6Dch8PzY9wqxn3ftNQ_aF3yvJAIvmBTDh4pwINZnWSYWX8C_NV-wmkmLV7wy9TQFYmjMP5g8qHYDqbddPY38n64DIGhAT3j8F8Yc1p1AUYClmitVw-HUn9hQhjugba7wX8OJVoy_xC9OjBKQ-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/AQMF2RC5Jjji6Dch8PzY9wqxn3ftNQ_aF3yvJAIvmBTDh4pwINZnWSYWX8C_NV-wmkmLV7wy9TQFYmjMP5g8qHYDqbddPY38n64DIGhAT3j8F8Yc1p1AUYClmitVw-HUn9hQhjugba7wX8OJVoy_xC9OjBKQ-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/AQMF2RC5Jjji6Dch8PzY9wqxn3ftNQ_aF3yvJAIvmBTDh4pwINZnWSYWX8C_NV-wmkmLV7wy9TQFYmjMP5g8qHYDqbddPY38n64DIGhAT3j8F8Yc1p1AUYClmitVw-HUn9hQhjugba7wX8OJVoy_xC9OjBKQ-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/AQMF2RC5Jjji6Dch8PzY9wqxn3ftNQ_aF3yvJAIvmBTDh4pwINZnWSYWX8C_NV-wmkmLV7wy9TQFYmjMP5g8qHYDqbddPY38n64DIGhAT3j8F8Yc1p1AUYClmitVw-HUn9hQhjugba7wX8OJVoy_xC9OjBKQ-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/AQMF2RC5Jjji6Dch8PzY9wqxn3ftNQ_aF3yvJAIvmBTDh4pwINZnWSYWX8C_NV-wmkmLV7wy9TQFYmjMP5g8qHYDqbddPY38n64DIGhAT3j8F8Yc1p1AUYClmitVw-HUn9hQhjugba7wX8OJVoy_xC9OjBKQ-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":276343,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=276343","url_meta":{"origin":157630,"position":1},"title":"Democrats and Republicans deeply divided on extreme\u00a0weather","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"30\/08\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Nearly 150 million Americans\u00a0were under heat alerts Tuesday,\u00a0after July marked the planet\u2019s hottest month on record. Devastating downpours dumped two months of rain on Vermont in two days. Smoke from Canadian wildfires choked East Coast skies, causing the worst air quality on record for some locations. And Hawaii is reeling\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Canadian wildfires\"","block_context":{"text":"Canadian wildfires","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=canadian-wildfires"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/0428cb5e678da63e8f316391bc0d6116d.jpg?fit=1200%2C695&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/0428cb5e678da63e8f316391bc0d6116d.jpg?fit=1200%2C695&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/0428cb5e678da63e8f316391bc0d6116d.jpg?fit=1200%2C695&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/0428cb5e678da63e8f316391bc0d6116d.jpg?fit=1200%2C695&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/0428cb5e678da63e8f316391bc0d6116d.jpg?fit=1200%2C695&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":204362,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=204362","url_meta":{"origin":157630,"position":2},"title":"New Data Absolutely Destroys Media Claims of \u2018Climate Change is Causing More Wildfire\u2019","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"14\/06\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"A California wildfire being fought with a helicopter water drop. Licensed from 123rf.com The media, politicians, and climate activists like to claim that climate change is making wildfires more frequent and larger. The linkage is the supposed relationship with increasing global atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration due to the burning\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/0wildfire-helicopter-155807768_s.jpg?fit=848%2C565&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/0wildfire-helicopter-155807768_s.jpg?fit=848%2C565&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/0wildfire-helicopter-155807768_s.jpg?fit=848%2C565&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/0wildfire-helicopter-155807768_s.jpg?fit=848%2C565&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":409613,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=409613","url_meta":{"origin":157630,"position":3},"title":"Rain causes wildfires \u2013 the climate change gospel\u00a0","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"22\/10\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The Met Office is determined to convince us of the immediate need to cut greenhouse gas emissions. As part of its campaign, it is now reporting that the California wildfires in January were caused by severe heatwaves, droughts and, er, heavy rain. Yes, really.","rel":"","context":"In \"California fires\"","block_context":{"text":"California fires","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=california-fires"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/AQNyTT3Nr0m6_WOQQnJbCa0GFQKWqd_ymU6L9zc5QOIcFfITLCY-Qw7DrggTbDGJpi_UysGHG8TO9DHxXf04yj69trhkOq1YkRCm6EfWIzIhLRFDu8oEcA2FmsHNBOI.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/AQNyTT3Nr0m6_WOQQnJbCa0GFQKWqd_ymU6L9zc5QOIcFfITLCY-Qw7DrggTbDGJpi_UysGHG8TO9DHxXf04yj69trhkOq1YkRCm6EfWIzIhLRFDu8oEcA2FmsHNBOI.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/AQNyTT3Nr0m6_WOQQnJbCa0GFQKWqd_ymU6L9zc5QOIcFfITLCY-Qw7DrggTbDGJpi_UysGHG8TO9DHxXf04yj69trhkOq1YkRCm6EfWIzIhLRFDu8oEcA2FmsHNBOI.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/AQNyTT3Nr0m6_WOQQnJbCa0GFQKWqd_ymU6L9zc5QOIcFfITLCY-Qw7DrggTbDGJpi_UysGHG8TO9DHxXf04yj69trhkOq1YkRCm6EfWIzIhLRFDu8oEcA2FmsHNBOI.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":225159,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=225159","url_meta":{"origin":157630,"position":4},"title":"LA Times reveals 2020 CA Wildfire CO2 Wiped Out 18 Years of the State\u2019s Emissions Reductions","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"22\/10\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"What a load of crap. \u00a0 \u00a0","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/image-1058.png?fit=1200%2C802&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/image-1058.png?fit=1200%2C802&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/image-1058.png?fit=1200%2C802&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/image-1058.png?fit=1200%2C802&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/image-1058.png?fit=1200%2C802&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":272027,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=272027","url_meta":{"origin":157630,"position":5},"title":"Right, Wall Street Journal, Wildfires Are Declining as Climate Changes","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"07\/08\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Globally, the number and scope of wildfires have fallen sharply from earlier decades and centuries.","rel":"","context":"In \"Climate change\"","block_context":{"text":"Climate change","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=climate-change"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/02048px-Woolsey_Fire_-_tree_ridge_in_flames_20181119-PB-008.jpg?fit=1200%2C741&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/02048px-Woolsey_Fire_-_tree_ridge_in_flames_20181119-PB-008.jpg?fit=1200%2C741&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/02048px-Woolsey_Fire_-_tree_ridge_in_flames_20181119-PB-008.jpg?fit=1200%2C741&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/02048px-Woolsey_Fire_-_tree_ridge_in_flames_20181119-PB-008.jpg?fit=1200%2C741&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/02048px-Woolsey_Fire_-_tree_ridge_in_flames_20181119-PB-008.jpg?fit=1200%2C741&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157630","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/121246920"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=157630"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157630\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":157638,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157630\/revisions\/157638"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=157630"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=157630"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=157630"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}