"The situation is already dramatic. And if the weather doesn't change, it will be a real tragedy," Lepper, who is also a deputy prime minister, told public radio station Jedynka.

Compared to last year, "the harvest from cereals (sown in autumn) will be reduced by up to 35 percent, that of cereals sown in spring up to 90 percent reduced in certain areas. On average the harvest will be down by 20 percent", Lepper said.

Northern Poland was most affected, but the drought was also causing problems across the country, he added.

Poland is the third-biggest wheat producer in the European Union, which it joined in 2004, after France and Germany. Last year Poland produced some 27 million tonnes of wheat.

Last Thursday temperatures reached 36.5 degrees Centigrade (97.7 Fahrenheit) in Slubice, western Poland, the highest in the country so far this summer.

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