UK wildfire warning: climate adviser calls for better preparation

Baroness Brown, chairwoman of the UK’s Climate Change Committee, said she feared lives would be lost unless the country did more to prepare for wildfires. In an interview with BBC File on 4 Investigates reported on 29 September 2026, she said warnings about the changing climate had not prompted enough action. [1]

National Fire Chiefs Council figures seen by the BBC put the number of wildfires in England and Wales at 1,350 in 2026 — more than 300 above 2025 and more than 1,000 above 2024. The BBC described it as a record. Earlier this year, a man died in a Gloucestershire wildfire, 19 homes were destroyed in Stourbridge and villagers were evacuated in the Cairngorms. [1]

Brown called for specialist teams and equipment, better woodland planning, fire breaks and early-warning systems. She said wildfire risk could double across much of the UK by 2050. [1]