Wildfires – nearly two-thirds of UK newspaper articles didn’t mention climate change

Almost two-thirds (65.4%) of articles in UK national newspapers which referred to wildfires during this summer's record-breaking temperatures didn’t include a reference to climate change, new media analysis has found.[1]

It comes after a new study by World Weather Attribution of the entire wildfire season across several European regions stated in late July: "Human-caused climate change was a key driver of the fire weather conditions, primarily through its influence on exceptionally high temperatures.” It added that human-caused warming has made wildfire conditions at least twice as likely in southwestern France and at least 20 times as likely in central Spain.[2]

The snap analysis also found that under 1 in 30 (2.9%) articles referring to wildfires and climate change additionally mentioned “net zero”. British scientist Professor Sir Jim Skea, Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) stated earlier this year in an interview with the Financial Times: “It’s chemistry and physics that if you want to stop global warming, you have to achieve net zero emissions.”[3]

 The research reveals notable differences between titles. The Sun had the lowest percentage of articles about wildfires referring to climate change, at 5.8%. The FT (64.4%) had the highest percentage, followed by the Guardian (63.7%). 

The analysis found that less than 2% of articles which mentioned wildfires and climate change in five newspapers – the Daily Mail, Daily Express, Daily Mirror, Sun, and Independent – also referred to net zero. The FT (8.9%) had the highest percentage.

Gareth Tovey, Executive Council Member for Wales, Fire Brigades Union, said: “As firefighters, we see first-hand how dangerous and unpredictable wildfires are becoming. When the media reports on these fires without explaining the role climate change is playing in making conditions hotter, drier and more conducive to extreme fires, it leaves out a crucial part of the story.

“This isn’t just about getting the facts right. Climate change is changing the conditions we have to fight fires in, putting communities, homes and firefighters’ lives at greater risk. People need to understand why these fires are becoming more dangerous, and what is driving that change.

“When coverage treats wildfires as isolated events rather than part of a worsening climate crisis, it risks making an increasingly dangerous situation look normal. We need reporting that connects the flames we are fighting today with the climate conditions making them more likely and more severe.

“And if this is the new reality we’re facing, we need properly funded public services, including the fire service, with the resources, people and resilience to keep communities safe. We cannot expect firefighters to meet the growing risks of a changing climate without giving them the support and resources they need.”

The analysis examined media articles in top UK national newspapers from Friday 22 May (the date of the first heat-health alert of 2026) to Friday 31 July. It tracked how many articles including the phrase “wildfire(s)” also referred to “climate change” or a similar term such as “climate” or “global warming”. It also tracked how many of those same articles mentioning wildfires and climate also referred to the phrase “net zero”.

Recent polling points to high levels of public confusion around net zero. A YouGov survey from Climate Barometer in April 2025 found 22% of those surveyed wrongly thought net zero meant ‘producing no carbon emissions at all’, rising to 41% amongst supporters of Reform UK.[4] Further Climate Barometer polling from April 2025 found that 38% of people think it is not essential to reach net zero in order to stop climate change, rising to 68% of Reform UK supporters.[5]

The analysis follows research by ECIU last month which found that nearly three quarters of national newspaper articles mentioning the heatwave during June’s record temperatures didn’t include a mention of climate change.[6]

In June, a letter by leading UK climate scientists – written to senior news editors at the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, Sky and Global, and media regulators OFCOM and IPSO – expressed “concern" about recent media coverage of extreme weather, climate change and net zero. The letter, which first appeared in Press Gazette, stated: "While it is right to debate policy and implementation, coverage increasingly overlooks the fundamental "why". Net zero is not an arbitrary slogan, but a boundary dictated by the laws of physics.”[7]

A report published last year by Dr James Painter from the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (RISJ) found that a growing proportion of media articles focussed on net zero were failing to mention climate change.[8] Analysis published in March by Climate News Tracker also found that net zero is also rarely explained on TV news, with 95% of morning and 76% of 10pm bulletins on BBC, ITV and Sky offering no definition.[9]

ENDS

Notes to Editors

1. The analysis used the Factiva news monitoring tool to investigate search results of both print and online newspaper articles (excluding live blogs) in the Daily Telegraph, the Times, the Financial Times, the Independent, the Guardian, the Daily Mail, the Daily Express, the Sun, and the Daily Mirror.
2. https://www.worldweatherattribution.org/climate-change-increases-likelihood-of-compounding-drivers-of-severe-wildfire-conditions-in-france-and-spain/
3. https://www.ft.com/content/06d6867e-0094-41f8-b2cc-9b3eda4726f6
4. https://climatebarometer.org/new-public-polling-behind-the-noise-on-net-zero/
5. https://climatebarometer.org/climate-barometer-trackers?showgraph=23159412
6. https://eciu.net/media/press-releases/three-in-4-uk-newspaper-articles-on-record-breaking-heatwave-didnt-mention-climate
7. https://pressgazette.co.uk/news/climate-scientists-say-news-coverage-ignores-cause-of-uk-heatwave/
8. https://eciu.net/media/press-releases/british-media-divorcing-net-zero-from-climate-change-analysis
9. https://climatenewstracker.org/net-zero-mentioned-often-explained-rarely/

For more information or for interview requests:

George Smeeton, Head of Communications, ECIU, Tel: 07894 571 153, email: george.smeeton@eciu.net