- in Science Secretary Peter Kyle's foreword.

"The reception is overwhelmingly positive wherever we go," goat herder Michael Choi said in a recent interview. "It's a win-win scenario as far as I can tell."There are also efforts to use high-tech camera-based surveillance systems to watch for developing wildfires, and supercomputers that try to predict when fires are most likely to occur. That said, these systems were in place in LA last week but that did not stop the latest fires claiming lives and leaving vast areas in ruins.

Homeowners who live in wildfire-prone locations need to think about their own vulnerability, says Ms Graeden: "This is a risk that is not necessarily seasonal anymore. This is the type of risk that people need to be taking very seriously at all times."She recommends clearing as much vegetation from around residential properties as possible, and installing a fire-resistant roof or a sprinkler system. Having an evacuation plan in place could also save lives.When efforts to repair and rebuild homes in LA eventually get underway, it is possible some may turn to fire-resistant materials such as

But at the heart of it is a deeper question. "We built civilisation that [functions] in one climate and now we are,, fundamentally changing [that climate]," argues Margaret Klein Salamon, a climate activist and leader of the Climate Emergency Fund, a non-profit that funds climate activism.

"This is what the future looks like unless we make drastic changes," she adds, arguing that the problem of climate change will not go away simply by relocating from some of the worst-affected places.

As the world gets hotter, and as rainfall patterns become more erratic, we may see fires like those in LA erupt with increasing frequency. Abatzoglou highlights the 2024 wildfires in Chile and Greece as key examples in which very dry conditions set the stage for catastrophe."It's causing a mini-pandemic," he said.

Mr Clayton added that he fully supported the strike action by the refuse workers and said he had provided his service for "as cheap as I possibly can" to people who are "desperate" for their waste to be collected.The history of Grangemouth has been built on fossil fuels – but now its future depends on its reinvention as Scotland's green energy industrial hub.

The site, on the south bank of the Firth of Forth, is home to the UK's oldest oil refinery, which dates back to 1924.It is being closed down by owner Petroineos, with the loss of 400 of the 2,000 jobs which are based at the sprawling industrial complex.