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UK firefighting teams are learning techniques used in Southern Europe to battle future wildfires.

The techniques come from the Mediterranean area, where wildfires are common in the summer due to a hotter climate.

However, because of climate change, the UK is seeing more and more wildfires. They damage the environment and in some cases can impact homes and communities.

Firefighting experts say they want to get "ahead of the curve" to protect people from wildfires in the future.

Climate change and wildfires

As climate change heats the earth up, wildfires are likely to become more powerful and frequent. When plants dry up they can quickly catch fire and spread flames.

In hotter areas of Europe, like around the Mediterranean, wildfires are quite common in the summer in dry areas, especially during heatwaves.

However, in recent years in the UK, we've started to see large wildfires too.

Smoke from a recent wildfire in Scotland was so huge that it was caught on camera by a Nasa satellite in space. Earlier this month in Surrey, in England, a wildfire spread over 10 hectares and damaged a popular nature spot.

Wildfires are very dangerous for plants and animals, destroying their habitats and homes. Burning trees also releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, contributing to the greenhouse effect.

'Fighting fire with fire'

Firefighters in the UK are planning to set up special units in a similar way to Mediterranean countries to try and battle wildfires this year.

One technique that will be used is called "burn suppression", which is when firefighters deliberately burn certain areas of land to try keep the fire in one place.

This technique is often used in Southern Europe, and it's also sometimes known as "fighting fire with fire".

Paul Hedley, who is in charge of managing wildfires on the National Fire Chiefs Council, says the wildfire risk is "clearly growing" in the UK at the moment.