Weather chaos across Europe

Forest fires in the hills east of Salon-de-Provence, France

Breakfast's main story this morning was the chaos being caused by the weather across much of Europe.

Forest fires in the French Riviera are now believed to be the worst in a generation.

Two Britons are among the dead as fires continue to blaze and thousands of acres are destroyed.

Breakfast covered this story throughout Thursday's programme

Luisa Baldini was in La Motte, Southern France

And Tristana Moore was in Goeritz Germany, you can see both reports by clicking on the links at the top of the page

It's part of a wider crisis across most of mainland Europe, as a prolonged heatwave and drought wrecks the farming and tourism industry.

In Germany, some farmers are reporting that their grain harvests could drop by more than 60 per cent.

Click here for BBC News Online's feature by Alex Kirby on the European weather

In Austria, shipping is having to be loaded at half capacity because the River Danube is so low.

And, in Italy, millions of air conditioners have overloaded the national grid and caused electricity blackouts.

The country has been particularly hard hit by a prolonged drought that has seen the once mighty River Po drop by 23 feet, denying major power stations along its banks the water they need to cool their turbines.

Global warming

Global warming is playing its part with the weather, it's helping to heat the Mediterranean Sea, which is now as warm as the Caribbean in some places, and hosting similar sorts of wildlife.

We spoke to Professor Mike Hulme and expert in climate change from the University of East Anglia

Poisonous puffer fish have found their way through the Suez Canal, according to Italian marine scientists, along with clown triggerfish.