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Wildfires in United Kingdom

117 fires over 100 hectares with an official perimeter since 2016, adding up to 95,337 hectares burned across 60 districts.

Only fires of 100 ha or more get an entry: smaller ones are not in the lists or the entry totals, but they are in the official yearly series.

These figures leave out 180 burns that were probably not wildfires (agricultural, pasture, reed-bed or prescribed); one provisional page, seen only as heat detections and still without a perimeter. They appear in the lists, marked.

What is burning in United Kingdom today › Emergency number and official warnings ›

Key facts

Figures computed on 31 October 2026 from the WorldFires database; each sentence names its source. Reusable under CC BY 4.0 with credit to WorldFires.

The official record

2006–2026
Yearly average 2016–202515,195 ha
Worst year2025 47,879 ha
With a page here117 since 2016
060708091011121314151617181920212223242526
›See the year-by-year table
Year Fires hectares Source
202679 25,084 EFFIS
2025181 47,879 EFFIS
202411 2,262 EFFIS
202341 8,697 EFFIS
2022151 20,362 EFFIS
202165 6,236 EFFIS
202075 13,793 EFFIS
2019111 28,754 EFFIS
201866 17,689 EFFIS
201717 5,085 EFFIS
20169 1,197 EFFIS
20154 2,127 EFFIS
20141 85 EFFIS
201316 5,445 EFFIS
20120 — EFFIS
201143 17,148 EFFIS
20100 — EFFIS
20090 — EFFIS
20080 — EFFIS
20070 — EFFIS
20060 — EFFIS

National estimates from Copernicus EFFIS, which only counts fires larger than 30 hectares.

Fire calendar

The peak usually comes in week 17 (around 26 April): that is the median of the week with the most burned area in each year since 2016.

Each cell is one week; the colour shows the area of the fires on record that started that week, in quartiles for this country. Tap a cell for details.

Hectares per week: no fires < 253253–497497–1,771≥ 1,771

When it burned: year by year, month by month

Hectares with an official perimeter by the fire’s starting month, and the largest fire of each year.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecΣLargest of the year
2026
11k
200
188
6k
2k
 19,398 Powys 6,367 ha
2025
12k
3k
10k
2k
 26,556 Dava 9,809 ha
2024
104
437
 541 Highland 499 ha
2023
4k
1k
537
 6,041 Highland 3,446 ha
2022
1k
1k
143
 2,740 Merthyr Tydfil 1,470 ha
2021
746
253
 999 Carmarthenshire 476 ha
2020
2k
3k
2k
 6,937 Ceredigion 2,246 ha
2019
9k
6k
 14,309 Highland 5,430 ha
2018
2k
3k
3k
3k
3k
 13,670 Highland 2,755 ha
2017
4k
 3,583 Highland 1,550 ha
2016
442
121
 563 Highland 442 ha

Hectares burned per year

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026

What burns: vegetation burnt by year

Copernicus EFFIS · Corine Land Cover

Of the 149,805 ha that EFFIS mapped in United Kingdom since 2016 in fires of 30 ha or more, 2% was forest, 2% shrubland, 95% other natural land and 0% farmland. 2026 was the year with the most forest burnt: 759 ha, 3% of everything that burnt that year.

Breakdown by the Corine Land Cover classes that EFFIS computes inside each perimeter. Only perimeters of 30 ha or more linked to a fire page, so the sum does not match the country total. Forest: coniferous, broadleaved and mixed; shrubland: sclerophyllous and transitional; built-up and other: artificial surfaces and other land cover.

›See the year-by-year table
Year hectares ForestShrublandOther natural landAgricultural areasBuilt-up and other
202622,526 3 %1 %95 %< 1 %< 1 %
202541,212 1 %3 %95 %< 1 %1 %
20242,033 2 %0 %97 %< 1 %1 %
20237,409 4 %3 %92 %< 1 %1 %
202214,581 1 %< 1 %99 %< 1 %< 1 %
20213,810 1 %< 1 %98 %< 1 %< 1 %
202011,516 3 %4 %92 %< 1 %< 1 %
201925,288 1 %2 %96 %< 1 %1 %
201815,981 3 %< 1 %96 %< 1 %1 %
20174,614 2 %3 %95 %0 %1 %
2016835 4 %1 %96 %0 %< 1 %

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Largest recorded fires

By region

  1. Scotland 78,053 ha · 127
  2. Wales 45,285 ha · 100
  3. England 17,220 ha · 49
  4. Northern Ireland 7,788 ha · 18

Districts that have burned most often in United Kingdom

  1. 35×Highland11 years · 33,484 ha
  2. 14×Powys6 years · 11,748 ha
  3. 10×Wiltshire4 years · 3,728 ha
  4. 6×Ceredigion4 years · 6,064 ha
  5. 5×Newry, Mourne and Down3 years · 2,824 ha

Full ranking: by number of fires, area and share of the municipality →

Fires in 2026 · 33

See all 33 fires of 2026 →

Fires in 2025 · 57

See all 57 fires of 2025 →

Fires in 2024 · 6

Fires in 2023 · 15

Fires in 2022 · 50

See all 50 fires of 2022 →

Fires in 2021 · 18

Fires in 2020 · 30

See all 30 fires of 2020 →

Fires in 2019 · 49

See all 49 fires of 2019 →

Fires in 2018 · 27

See all 27 fires of 2018 →

Fires in 2017 · 9

Fires in 2016 · 4

Frequently asked questions

How much land burns in United Kingdom in an average year?
According to Copernicus EFFIS estimates, an average of 15,195 hectares burn in United Kingdom each year (2016–2025 average).
What was the worst wildfire year in United Kingdom?
The worst year in United Kingdom since 2016 was 2025, with 47,879 hectares burned according to Copernicus EFFIS.
What is the largest wildfire recorded in United Kingdom?
Largest fire recorded by WorldFires in United Kingdom since 2016: Dava fire, June 2025, with 9,809 hectares burned — perimeter measured by satellite (Copernicus EFFIS).
When is wildfire season in United Kingdom?
In United Kingdom, 81% of the area burned in fires with a WorldFires page since 2016 burned in April–June; the month with the most burned area: April.
Which regions of United Kingdom burn the most?
Regions of United Kingdom with the most area burned in fires with a WorldFires page since 2016: Scotland (78,053 ha), Wales (45,285 ha), England (17,220 ha).