UK climate committee warns wildfire deaths could rise without stronger preparation

Lives could be lost unless the United Kingdom takes stronger action to prepare for increasingly frequent wildfires, the chairwoman of the Climate Change Committee has warned. Baroness Brown told BBC File on 4 Investigates that the country had not taken enough action despite predictions of longer and drier summers linked to global warming. She said the UK was not prepared for the changing climate and needed greater public education and preparation.

Figures seen by the programme from the National Fire Chiefs Council show that 2026 recorded 1,350 wildfires in England and Wales. That was more than 300 above the previous year and more than 1,000 above 2024. Records were also broken in 2022 and 2025.

The source reports that one man died in a Gloucestershire wildfire this year, while 19 homes were destroyed in Stourbridge, near Birmingham. Villagers were also evacuated in the Cairngorms. Brown called for investment in specialist teams and equipment, as well as woodland planning, firebreaks and early-warning systems.

She said the risk of wildfires could double across much of the UK by 2050. The Fire Brigades Union said more than a fifth of firefighter and control-room posts across the UK, about 12,000 jobs, had been cut since 2010. General secretary Steve Wright said crews had been moved between regions during the summer, leaving insufficient personnel when fires occurred simultaneously.

The government said it was investing nearly £100m in national resilience, including six specialist firefighting teams. National Fire Chiefs Council chairman Phil Garrigan welcomed the £97m investment but said more money was needed for aerial firefighting and specialist equipment.