Ireland and UK Face High Wildfire Risks After Dry, Warm Weather

Irish authorities warned that warm and dry conditions, combined with dead vegetation, pose a high risk of wildfires across the country this week.

Ireland’s Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has issued an orange alert through April 14, saying fires could spread quickly, especially in areas where dead grasses and shrubs have accumulated. That alert comes as April’s dry and unseasonably warm weather is set to continue, according to forecast data from Atmospheric G2.

While no equivalent warnings have been issued in the UK, similar conditions mean that fire risks are also “very high,” said Thomas Smith, a fire scientist and environmental geography professor at the London School of Economics.

As the planet heats up and weather whiplash spreads, compound weather events — such as heavy rainfall and drought that preceded the deadly wildfires in Southern California earlier this year — are raising risks across the world. Research suggests global warming is extending the UK’s main wildfire season beyond spring into the summer and fall.

🔥Condition Orange – High Fire Risk

Warning Effective From 12pm today to 12pm 14th April. Arising from current weather patterns a high fire risk is deemed to exist in all areas where hazardous fuels such as dead grasses and shrub fuels such as heather and gorse exist.

— Dept of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (@agriculture_ie) April 7, 2025

Several wildfires have been reported recently and appear concentrated in western and northwestern parts of Ireland, said Irish Farmers Association Farm Forestry Chair Padraig Stapleton.

The same mild weather that’s made conditions potentially dangerous has also led to an up-tick in visitors across the Irish countryside, agriculture officials say. Most wildfires are sparked by human activity, research shows, and authorities are urging visitors to avoid lighting fires or barbecues in high-risk areas.

Most of the recent fires have ignited near active turf cutting and illegal waste dumps, agriculture officials say. They’re also advising forest owners and rural residents to remove dry vegetation that could fuel fires, clear trails and roadways and patrol known hot spots so any fires are discovered and extinguished quickly.

The fire weather warning, issued Monday, extends an April 1 alert and is the fourth this year.

In the UK, the growth patterns of shrubs and other plants is compounding the risks, according to the LSE’s Smith. Many shrubby areas are still in “winter mode” and have not yet greened up, while conditions around them have become warmer and drier.

“There’s a lot of fuel available to burn,” he said. “And the conditions are likely to drive intense fire behavior.”

A persistent high-pressure weather system has limited precipitation recently, according to the the Irish National Meteorological Service and the UK Met Office. Those conditions are expected to continue this week, but the forecast suggests a storm front could develop over the weekend, increasing the chance of rain.

“It looks like high pressure will break down over the weekend with some rain likely in the west on Saturday, with more widespread showers possible on Sunday,” said Brandon Creagh, a meteorologist with the Irish National Meteorological Service.

Top photo: Firefighters contain a wildfire in Sheffield in 2022.