As much of Europe swelters though a blistering heatwave France has taken an unusual decision with a reactor at the Golfech nuclear power plant near Toulouse and temporarily shut it down due to the heat.
This is after Météo-France warned earlier the scorching hot spell is set to continue until “at least 14 July.”
The Guardian reported the closure Thursday as large parts of western Europe are experiencing another extreme heat surge this summer with temperatures in high 30s across Spain and France and across to the UK and beyond.
This is the second time in a matter of weeks France has made a nuclear power station shutdown decision, Euronews reports.
Last month reactors were taken offline at the Nogent-sur-Seine plant on the Seine River north of Paris, and at the Bugey facility on the Rhone near Lyon in the southeast.
This photograph shows a weather forecast screen which predicts temperatures of 38 degrees Celsius in the morning and 41 in the afternoon in Villeneuve-les-Beziers, southern France, on July 8, 2026. (Photo by Gabriel BOUYS / AFP via Getty Images)
Both closures were triggered by rising river temperatures, which France’s state-owned energy giant EDF is required by law to monitor to avoid discharging water that could harm aquatic ecosystems.
The Euronews report notes, “Nuclear power plants use river water to cool their reactors before releasing it back into the waterway, typically at temperatures ranging from a few tenths of a degree to several degrees warmer than when it was drawn, depending on the site. During heatwaves, as rivers warm naturally, operators must cut or reduce output to stay within legally mandated discharge temperature limits.”
No indication has yet been given as to when the Golfech nuclear power plant will reopen.
France, the Netherlands and Belgium have already recorded 3,700 excess deaths across the summer, with authorities warning that the numbers are preliminary and could rise.
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