Wildfires likely to increase by a third by 2050, warns UN

Wildfires in California. A new report warns that extreme fires that ravaged the US, Australia and Siberia will become more common by the end of the century. Photograph: David Swanson/Reuters

Wildfires that have devastated California, Australia and Siberia will become 50% more common by the end of the century, according to a new report that warns of uncontrollable blazes ravaging previously unaffected parts of the planet.

The escalating climate crisis and land-use change are driving a global increase in extreme wildfires, with a 14% increase predicted by 2030 and a 30% increase by 2050, according to a UN report involving more than 50 international researchers.