Climate change and land-use change are projected to make wildfires more frequent and intense, a new report said on Wednesday, adding that the number of extreme fires globally will rise by up to 14 per cent by 2030, 30 per cent by the end of 2050 and 50 per cent by the end of the century.

The report by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and GRID-Arendal, a non-profit environmental communications centre based in Norway, has called for a radical change in government spending on wildfires and shifting their investments from reaction and response to prevention and preparedness.