Europeans are already struggling with higher food prices as grain exports from Russia and Ukraine - among the world's top producers - are much lower than normal.

The heatwave that has baked France since June has prompted trees and bushes to shed their leaves early, creating scenes that look autumnal.

In July France had just 9.7mm (0.38 inches) of rain, making it the driest month since March 1961, the national weather service Meteo-France said.

Irrigation has been banned in much of the northwest and southeast of France to conserve water.

The corn harvest, used mainly for animal feed, is expected to be 18.5% lower this year compared with 2021, the agriculture ministry said. The main corn-growing areas are Alsace in the east and western regions, and the harvest is already underway.

Corn exports from France, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria are all expected to be lower this year because of the heatwave, and those lower volumes will push prices up, French BFMTV reported.

Livestock farmers in the Alps are having to descend into the valleys by truck every day to collect water for their animals, which adds several hundred euros to their weekly fuel bills, Broadcaster TF1 reported.