The reason why Scotland's wildfires have plummeted this year compared to the past decade

A total of 48 wildfires have happened so far in 2024, according to the latest Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) incident reporting data. This compares to 145 recorded last year, 146 in 2022, and 143 in 2021.

In 2020, when the pandemic hit, the number dropped to 103 wildfires. March and April are when wildfires are most frequent, which was when time outside for people was heavily restricted during the first lockdown.

In 2019, however, there were 179, and in 2018 there were 210.

While 2024’s figure covers incidents up until August, the data shows wildfires are much less frequent in the autumn and winter. Over the past decade, the maximum number of wildfires detected annually between September and December was 17, in 2018.

And last year only eight wildfires were recorded in this four-month period.

The SFRS said this year’s wet spring and summer weather could have played a part in the significant drop in wildfires.

They also attributed the lower number to an improved emergency response system from the fire service.

Local senior officer Michael Humphreys, the SFRS’s wildfire lead, said: “Our firefighters have reported a significant decrease in the number of wildfires this year compared to previous years.

“This reduction could be attributed to Scotland experiencing very wet conditions this year, which naturally reduces the risk of wildfires breaking out across the country.

 “However, we will continue our preventative work to raise awareness of the actions that people can take to reduce the threat of wildfires when they are accessing the countryside, such as never starting a fire when a wildfire danger assessment is in place and during prolonged dry periods in areas such as forests, woods, farmland or peaty ground.”

The Met Office has confirmed this summer has been the wettest on record in Scotland.

A total of 785.44mm of rain had fallen as of Wednesday in Scotland over the three months since the start of June.

Millport, the tourist town on the Isle of Great Cumbrae, has been among the wettest locations in the country this summer. The popular island location has recorded 240 per cent of its average rainfall for August, with further rain possible before the month is over.

Glasgow is among a swathe of other locations in Scotland’s west and south that have recorded more than double their average August rainfall to date, alongside Threave, Eskdalemuir and Auchincruive.

But the east of Scotland has been drier, with Edinburgh so far receiving just 70 per cent of its average summer rainfall.

The Scotsman reported in May how an RSPB nature reserve devastated by a wildfire that ripped through the Scottish Highlands was showing promising signs of recovery.

The wildfire began on the last weekend of May last year near Cannich, to the south-west of Inverness, and spread rapidly to cover about 1,100 hectares.

Decades of woodland restoration was wiped out in minutes. However, there have been green shoots of recovery at the site after RSPB Scotland launched an appeal to support recovery of the land, which it said raised more than £200,000.