Summer Heat and City Fires: The New Norm in Southeast England

In the scorching summer of 2022, southeast England encountered something unprecedented - record-breaking heatwaves. Alongside this, urban areas like London witnessed unusual wildfires, causing alarm among residents and scientists alike. To understand this better, experts analyzed fire weather data from 1960 to 2020 using complex climate models. Despite the heat, the wildfire risk didn't peak like the temperatures. However, what caught their attention was the shift in fire risk days over the decades.From the 1960s to the 2010s, the number of summer days with high or very high fire risks increased significantly, while days with medium and low risks decreased. This change highlights an important point: the growing threat of wildfires due to climate change. It's a wake-up call for serious mitigation efforts to be put in place.