July 2026 was worst on record for wildfires in England, data shows

Smoking rising from Dunwich Heath in Suffolk, where vast areas of a nature reserve were destroyed by fire. Photograph: Tolga Akmen/EPA

This July was the worst on record for wildfires in England, provisional data shows, with England experiencing a clear upward trend in the total number of wildfires recorded.

This summer has been a stark reminder of the vulnerability of the UK to climate breakdown, after punishingly hot and dry weather turned large parts of the countryside into a tinderbox.