Uploaded March 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Wildfires seem to be getting more intense, more unpredictable, and harder to control than ever before, but global burnt areas are decreasing. Why are extreme wildfires getting harder to fight? What needs to change if we want to prevent future disasters?
Wildfires are no longer limited to traditionally hot places like Australia or California. Climate change, drought, and shifting weather patterns have caused severe and frequent fires in cooler countries such as Canada, the UK and Russia, too.
In this video, Dr Tom Smith, Associate Professor in the Department of Geography, explores the science of wildfires, how climate change, land‑use change, and fuel buildup interact, and why many of today’s most intense fires are the result of decades of fire suppression policies and weakened land management practices.
Wildfires seem to be getting more intense, more unpredictable, and harder to control than ever before, but global burnt areas are decreasing. Why are extreme wildfires getting harder to fight? What needs to change if we want to prevent future disasters?
Wildfires are no longer limited to traditionally hot places like Australia or California. Climate change, drought, and shifting weather patterns have caused severe and frequent fires in cooler countries such as Canada, the UK and Russia, too.
In this video, Dr Tom Smith, Associate Professor in the Department of Geography, explores the science of wildfires, how climate change, land‑use change, and fuel buildup interact, and why many of today’s most intense fires are the result of decades of fire suppression policies and weakened land management practices.
