Plumes of steam and smoke stretched across Hob Moor just off Thanet Road in York on 19 July. A sizable patch of the ground was already covered in black ash as a number of firefighters present fought the blaze and prevented it from spreading any further. One firefighter reported that the cause of the fire was unknown but that there have been persistent problems with wildfires in the area recently.
A local nature reserve at risk
Since 2002, Hob Moor has been designated a Local Nature Reserve (LNR), where children from the area can frequently be found playing, while others walk their dogs. Parents and children can also be seen walking to and from Hob Moor Community Primary Academy and Hob Moor Children’s Centre which sit directly beside the moor itself. For some years now, a small community of volunteer conservationists known as Friends of Hob Moor have taken on the responsibility of caring for the area, litter-picking and setting up educational walks on local flora, fauna and history.
Ordinarily, Hob Moor is a deep green colour, populated by numerous species of wildflowers and occasional grazing cattle. But, in recent months, as a result of persistent high temperatures and lack of rainfall, the moor has become relatively arid. Much of its grass lies dry, brown, and dormant – as can be seen in the areas surrounding the fires in these photographs.
A changing climate
This took place just as the UK was experiencing its longest dry spell in decades, its third heatwave of 2026 and its hottest July on record. These extended hot, dry spells are part of extreme weather anomalies that are becoming more common in Europe as a whole. This is driving increasing average surface temperatures throughout Europe – and indeed the planet.
While the immediate cause of this fire is unknown, the meteorological conditions that allow dry ground to burn so readily raise a much wider question about our changing climate. According to the Forestry Commission’s report for 2020–2021, “There is potential for destructive wildfire events to increase in frequency in the UK due to increased land-use pressure and climate change.” And, according to the findings of this report, using data from the years 2009–10 to 2020–21, the majority of wildfires (54.4%) took place in built-up areas and gardens.
Burnham’s North Sea dilemma
Meanwhile, Andy Burnham has signalled a “pragmatic approach” to new oil and gas drilling in the North Sea. This is despite the fact that climatologists and governments the world over have known for decades about the close connection between fossil fuel usage, increasing global temperatures, and extreme weather events.
The wildfire on Hob Moor and more recently the one that devastated Dunwich Heath in Suffolk present new challenges to Burnham’s position on North Sea oil drilling and net zero. Continued drilling and reliance on fossil fuels are having (and will continue to have) tangible impacts on global climate.
Who pays the price?
Less well-documented is how it will impact working-class communities around the country. Access to green spaces and safe areas for outdoor play, as well as air quality, are now being called into question by the continued use of fossil fuels. It is well known that wildfire smoke contains harmful pollutants that pose a health risk to those living – or children attending school – near to those green spaces.
In addition to wildfires, there are other, more tangible effects likely to be felt by people across the country as a result of climate change. One is water shortages, with half of England now officially in drought; another is rising food prices as supply chains struggle with lower yields caused by those water shortages.
Drilling won’t solve high energy bills
While some will argue that North Sea drilling is a necessity for lowering energy prices for consumers, this argument is doubtful. First, according to an analysis of government data by Global Witness, over 80% of the oil extracted from the UK sector of the North Sea is exported overseas rather than being used by domestic energy generators. With gas reserves now around 90% depleted, oil makes up the vast majority of what can still be extracted from the North Sea.
Second, this argument fails to take into account that the real cause of high energy bills is not simply the volatility of international wholesale fuel markets, as is often claimed. It is the insistence of private energy companies that shocks to the wholesale fuel market (such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine or, more recently, the joint US–Israeli attack on Iran) must be absorbed by consumers instead of eating into their profit margins.
There are at least two alternative strategies for dealing with high and ever-increasing energy bills:
- more restrictive price controls
- a more long-term solution: nationalisation.
Energy.eu data shows that the UK’s household energy bills have risen far above those of comparable European economies. Those whose bills have increased the least in recent years include France, Greece, and Hungary which all have publicly owned energy providers. This is no mistake: a state-owned energy provider sets the bar of prices for all energy firms, and the state can take the brunt of these external shocks rather than forcing ordinary people to foot the bill alone.
As this recent spike in local wildfires shows quite tangibly, no one is immune to the negative environmental effects associated with fossil fuel extraction and use, with lower-income earners being disproportionately affected. In light of this, any move to expand North Sea drilling would be a clear lose-lose for ordinary working people.
