Study: 2025 Scottish Megafire Released Carbon Equal to 85% of UK’s Average Annual Fire Emissions, Mostly From Peat

U.K. from 2001 to 2021, a study published in Nature Geoscience found.

And has been classed as Britain’s first megafire. Researchers determined that almost 85 percent of the fire’s carbon emissions came from burning peat rather than trees or brush. A megafire is typically classed as larger than 10,000 hectares, or roughly 25,000 acres, lead study author Johanna Schoenecker said.

The Dava Moor fire burned quickly and severely through mainly heathland and bogs, with only small patches of forest affected. Schoenecker said peatlands can take many hundreds of years to sequester large amounts of carbon. The fire burned into the peat, releasing significant amounts of carbon that were not immediately apparent from surface damage.

“Peat can build up over centuries or even millennia, but if it is dry enough to burn it will release carbon in a relatively short amount of time, making it irrecoverable in our lifetime,” Schoenecker said. Adam Pellegrini, an assistant professor of Earth System Science at the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability and another lead author, said carbon lost in a peatland fire is considered irrecoverable because of the massive time scales needed to recover and reaccumulate it.

Pellegrini said climate change and rising temperatures will make restoring peatland harder because heat increases atmospheric demand for water, making it more susceptible to fire.

U.K. and Europe highlight the impact of rising temperatures and the likelihood of more wildfires, he said. K. has not kept pace with the increasing risk of high-intensity, large-scale and more frequent wildfires.

The organization called for a coherent strategic framework covering wildfire preparation, risk reduction, funding and operational plans. K. fire services can manage on their own.

He said the issue now involves land management, climate resilience, public safety and the rural economy, and requires a stronger national response rooted in prevention as well as response.