Matt McGrath is an environment correspondent.

Image source, DANIEL MUNOZ

According to a new UN report, extreme wildfires will increase by 50% by the end of this century.

The report shows that the risk of fires in the northern part of the world is elevated.

Extreme fires are defined by the scientists as conflagrations that occur once in a hundred years.

Changes to the way we use land will drive the increase according to researchers.

A new study calls for a radical reallocation of financial resources from fighting fires to prevention.

The scientists from the UN Environment Programme say that large fires that burn for weeks are already becoming hotter and burning longer in many parts of the planet.

They are starting to Flare up in remote northern areas, in drying peatlands and on thawing permafrost.

Image source, Getty Images
Image caption, A fire in a forest in Siberia - researchers are worried about the spread of extreme fires in the Arctic

The number of extreme fires will increase by up to 14 percent by the year 2030. The increase could reach 50% by the end of the century.

The definition of a catastrophic fire is one that would occur once every 100 years, so it is a very low Frequency fire event, according to Dr Andrew Sullivan from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation.

The result was that the potential for that sort of fire would increase by a factor of 1.3 to 1.5 times.

The results were the same in both scenarios.

Extreme conflagrations are defined by the study as fires that are extraordinary or unusual, but this definition can vary depending on location.

If you imagine a fire in the north, it will be spreading in an hour. It is not a raging inferno, but it is unusual and spreading over immense areas because there is no one there to do anything about it.

A fire like this in the peatlands is an extreme fire, but it is not what you would expect if you lived in California.

Even though the study only makes projections on extreme events, the authors believe that lesser incidents of wildfire will increase as land use changes and populations increase. The extra burning will increase the amount of carbon in the atmosphere.

Image source, MediaNews Group/The Mercury News via Getty Images
Image caption, Researchers say that technology by itself is not a solution to extreme fires

The change in Frequency will be dependent on a number of local factors. The world is likely to see more fires in the north because of climate change.

In Africa, where about two thirds of the world's wildfires now occur, there are likely to be fewer in the coming decades as a growing population clears more forest areas for farmland.

In Africa, the number of fires is decreasing because of the change in land use and the increase in agriculture.

Our percentage of area burned is decreasing and our fires are becoming smaller and smaller because of the reduction in fuel load.

The authors want governments to change the way they spend on large fires.

According to the study, planning and prevention gets less than 1% of the budget, while firefighting takes over half of the budget.

Image source, PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA
Image caption, A villager fights a fire in Portugal in 2017 - the extreme fires that hit the country killed over 100 people

The reality on the ground is different for many governments who have good intentions in terms of spending more on planning and prevention.

We need to invest more in fire prevention, in full management, and in allowing fires to fulfill their ecological roles, according to Prof Paulo Fernandes, from the University of Porto in Portugal.

When things get hot, they will deviate from the policy that is supposed to be in place. In places like California, they talk a lot, but then they put the money in the same place in terms of action.

You can follow Matt on social media.