Moorland burning is exposing millions of people to unsafe air pollution levels in Yorkshire and across the UK, according to new research from the University of Leeds and the RSPB published on May 19, 2026. The study found that deliberate burning of moorland exposes an average of an additional 550,000 people to unsafe levels of particulate pollution, with peak exposure rising to as many as 2.3 million people.
Dr Ailish Graham said prescribed moorland burning had previously been seen as a local air quality issue, but the new findings show the pollution reaches far beyond the moors themselves. She said prescribed burning can increase PM2.5 concentrations across much larger regions, affecting towns and cities across northern England and Scotland. Those particles are among the most closely watched forms of air pollution because they can travel widely and linger in the air.
The research lands as the debate over managed burning on upland peatland sharpens. Prescribed moorland burning has been used to support recreational shooting, and the RSPB says the practice is also linked to damage that reaches well beyond air quality. Tom Aspinall said the environmental impacts on upland peatland habitats are well documented and can lead to the devastation of landscapes that are vital for wildlife and carbon storage.
That environmental case is now feeding directly into the policy fight. The RSPB is calling on the UK Government to introduce a licensing system to regulate grouse moor management practices across England, saying it should follow recent legislative changes in Scotland. The group argues that if the same burning practices are affecting public health and the wider environment, they should not be left to voluntary restraint.
The tension is that the damage appears to be spread across a far wider area than the people carrying out the burning or living closest to the moors. The study points to PM2.5 pollution reaching towns and cities many miles away, which makes the issue harder to dismiss as a niche land-management dispute. For families breathing that air, the question now is whether ministers will treat moorland burning as a national pollution problem or continue to view it as a local matter.
