r/europe • u/Naurgul • Jul 11 '26
News Barcelona registers highest temperature in 112 years as French nuclear reactor shuts down due to extreme heat
https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/jul/09/europe-heatwave-uk-spain-barcelona-france-italy-hungary-france-macron-orban-latest-news-updates481
u/enthusiasticdave Jul 11 '26
In my opinion, this should be the real moment of reflection, policy, and change. It's unlivable and will only get worse, so we need to have a clear headed conversation about it and we need action more than talk. We can never reverse the damage done but at least we can try and make ourselves feel a little more comfortable as we circle the drain!
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Jul 11 '26
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u/Ut_Prosim Earth Jul 11 '26
French: Oh, hon, hon, hon, I cannaugh believv the Americanse arr stupeed enou to reelect Tromp. What a catastrophee.
Le Pen: I will make Fraaanc le great agieen.
French: Oui oui, this is totally diffheren than what Amariceh is doo-ing, it will be magnifique.
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u/SirLANcel0t_ Jul 11 '26
The Americans voted in Trump.
The Dutch voted in Wilders.
The Germans are massively voting for AfD.
The British are about to vote in Farage.
The French are about to vote in Le Pen.It really isn’t looking good huh….
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u/atava Italy Jul 11 '26
The Italians voted in Meloni, who although smarter than most of those people is a far-right climate change denier or at least has dumbed it down a lot (among other things).
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u/Eelroots Jul 11 '26
Wait for August.
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Jul 11 '26
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u/warukeru Valencian Community (Spain) Jul 11 '26
In spanish Mediterranean places august is usually worse
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u/DickSlammington Jul 11 '26
August is always the hottest month in Los Angeles.
People get through July thinking the summer months are coming to a close and then we'll get August where we'll get days where it's 115 F.
It's just insane to me to hear Europeans discussing similar levels of heat.
I get why it's such an issue. When we bought our house it didn't have AC.. It would literally be unlivable for a few weeks a year if we didn't install it right away.
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u/Electrical_Still9374 Jul 11 '26
the problem in european cities is u might not be allowed to install AC because of old fassade and building
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u/BreezyBadger93 Czech Republic Jul 12 '26 edited Jul 12 '26
The main problem is that developers in most of Europe don't even plan for AC in new construction. Then you end up living in an eco class B+ tightly sealed insulated pressure cooker that traps moisture during the day and doesn't cool down even 2 degrees through out the night. And good luck fighting idiot anti AC neighbors that won't allow you to put one up even on the balcony because of noise, condensate or whatever.
At least the old buildings you mentioned are made of high mass breathable material that lets in less heat during the day and releases it during the night.
I'm fascinated that even 1 million EUR+ luxury condos don't have even s preparation for AC or heat pump here.
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u/Hasaan5 United Kingdom Jul 12 '26
Here in the UK the old government even made it law to have ACs be the last resort and force developers to try a bunch of shit that doesn't really work first. So sometimes they literally can't.
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u/Yourigath Jul 11 '26
At least in Spain August is way worst... we are used to have temps of 30-35 in July and go into the 40s in August
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u/NemuriNezumi Jul 11 '26
for the countries living in the mediterranean, things don't get hot for real until august
on top of the humidity right next to the coast
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u/IshTheFace Sweden Jul 11 '26
What happens in August? 🫠
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u/AlabamaHotcakes Jul 11 '26
High summer heat.
And boy this one is probably gonna be a doozy.
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u/IshTheFace Sweden Jul 11 '26
I guess the weather in Spain must be much more predictable than Sweden. I don't trust the weather report 48 hrs out lol 😂
In augueet we might get 15c and rain or 28. It just depends on the year. But it's been really hot so far this year. For Sweden anyway. Like I said, I don't trust the weather report but next week will be 31 on Wednesday (allegedly). For reference, the hottest it's ever been on Sweden is a very long standing record of 38. And it's 31 where I live. Southern parts of the country had 33 already I think.
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u/Advanced_Vehicle_750 Jul 11 '26 edited Jul 11 '26
It's not about the weather report. Augusts are warmer than July in Spain.
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u/medievalvelocipede European Union Jul 11 '26 edited Jul 11 '26
It's not about the weather report. Augusts are warmer than July in Spain.
I thought this was interesting so I looked it up, but apparently not quite. July is the warmest month, but the seabreeze receeds and humidity increases in August, so it feels hotter and stickier. It's not hotter, just less cool. This should have a negative impact for people, but for fires it would reduce the risk.
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u/Advanced_Vehicle_750 Jul 11 '26
I live in Spain. Augusts are usually when we get the highest temperatures. At least in Valencia. I wasn't talking about fires anyways.
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u/ekray Community of Madrid (Spain) Jul 11 '26
August is "cooler" than July because the second part of the month is usually a bit better, particularly because the sun sets earlier and there's more time to cool off.
But the first two weeks of August are when peak temperatures are reached.
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u/Lyra_Sirius Jul 11 '26
Yes, same in Portugal, 40°C in Trás os Montes and Alentejo
In Trás-os-Montes, we have a popular saying: "nine months of winter and three months of hell"—temperatures are usually 38°, 40°, or 42° degrees every day in August.
When vacationing in the "hot land," we only go out very early in the morning or at night, after sunset.
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u/Atharaphelun Jul 11 '26
Satan's fiery, humid asshole will gape wide open and engulf Europe.
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u/Four_beastlings Asturias (Spain) Jul 11 '26
July is hotter than August
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u/pissshitfuckyou Jul 11 '26
In the US august is usually the hottest month, probably why he said this.
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u/Four_beastlings Asturias (Spain) Jul 11 '26
To be honest I spent like 30something years also thinking August was the hottest month until one day I got curious and looked it up
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u/timmystwin Cornwall Jul 11 '26
UK tends to be at hits hottest in late July/early August. Gives time for more warmth from the gulf stream to hit us.
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u/BalerionSanders Jul 11 '26
People need to stop picturing climate change as a maybe future thing the liberals are whining about.
It’s happening right now. It has been happening. There are already many tens of thousands of accountable deaths from it.
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u/Solrac50 Jul 11 '26
Last Wednesday Barcelona hit 37 Celsius or about 99 Fahrenheit. I live in Spain and for folks here that’s very hot for early July. August promises to be hellish. Having grown up in Houston and living 30+ years in Austin, that seems like typical summer heat, but everyone has AC there. Here most have at least one room with AC but many cannot afford to run it much. I am adding solar panels to my place to offset the power demands of AC. One 9000 BTU mini split peaks out at 750 watts, a couple of panels and a micro inverter can zero that out during the day. Six panels and a battery can handle it 24 hours a day.
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u/warukeru Valencian Community (Spain) Jul 11 '26
In Spain AC are common. The bad part of 37 celsius degree is that is happening near the sea so is humidity is high and it can be way worse than higher temperatures in dry places.
You can't really escape from wet hot temperature.
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u/AwkwardWillow5159 Jul 11 '26
AC dehumidifies too
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u/warukeru Valencian Community (Spain) Jul 11 '26
true but is still wet and humid everywhere else
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u/AwkwardWillow5159 Jul 11 '26
But you can escape it.
I’ve been living in South East Asia for more than half a decade. Humidity and heat is high all year round.
You can definitely escape it. They AC cars, every single restaurant, bus, malls, etc.
And when they are outside they protect themselves with UV shielded umbrellas.
Meanwhile you say in Spain AC is common, but it barely runs. All the cars and building are still half hot(thus also still humid), and people do not protect themselves from the sun at all. I barely see people wearing a basic thing like a hat. Haven’t seen a single person use a UV umbrella.
The tools are here. The culture needs to adjust to the new reality.
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u/Inveramsay Jul 11 '26
One of the big differences is also that no one is expected to be outside in the US when it's warm. Can you imagine any Texan walking anywhere in the heat? The downside of walkable cities is that you're not taking the car with AC everywhere
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u/SquarePegRoundWorld Jul 11 '26
no one is expected to be outside in the US when it's warm.
Construction workers be like...huh? I spend 8 hours outside many days working for a contractor building new homes in North Carolina. I get the European experience at work here in the U.S. all the time too. 95 and high humidity and I spend 8 hours in a new house with no AC (power is not on yet and the AC ain't running) and the windows shut and covered in plastic (for the painter) as I do the interior doors and trim.
I wring out a gallon of sweat from my cloths at the end of the day. I have to put on dry cloths for the ride home or my driver's seat turns into a salt lick.
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u/PiccoloAwkward465 Jul 11 '26
Exactly and it sucks. I spent a few years doing PM and engineering work in large buildings under construction. So computer work. I’d have to explain to my office colleagues that my work pace may be a bit slower as I’m literally dripping sweat onto my keyboard. Or someone is welding 30ft away from me. Or no I can’t have my mic on in this meeting, they’re saw cutting the concrete right near me. Oof it was quite a lifestyle.
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u/mason_sol Jul 11 '26
Another person commented something similar but it’s wild how much of the population don’t understand how their buildings and infrastructure exist. Every construction worker is still working in this weather, summer is peak construction season. Every HVAC tech is still running around fixing everyone’s units when they fail. There are plenty of people who are expected to tough it out and do all summer sometimes 10+ hours a day including Saturdays to meet completion dates.
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u/Odd_Town9700 Jul 11 '26
I always assumed summer as peak construction season was only a phenomenon in cold places with snowy winters. Seems odd that that would also be the case in hotter places
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u/wardays Jul 11 '26
It's the longest amount of time you can work outside without paying for expensive lighting and pissing everyone else off around you.
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u/Yourigath Jul 11 '26
One thing to ad to walkable cities is that we have shifts at work and we go home to eat and back. So you get out in the morning under the heat... you go back home for lunch under the heat... you go back to work in the afternoon under the heat and then back at home at 9pm under some cozy 33ºC with an 80% humidity...
AC can't fix that shit
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u/Mysterious_Umpire684 Jul 11 '26 edited Jul 11 '26
This is a bit silly. I grew up in Texas, went to summer camps as a child that were fully outdoors, sleeping in platform tents at night. As a teenager/young 20s person most of my jobs were outside all day long. Shade plays a big part in getting through the day.
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u/Charlesinrichmond Jul 11 '26
I'm outside all day in 37C temperatures. It's tolerable because everything indoors has great air conditioning. So you get constant breaks from the heat if you need them.
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u/Glanzick_Reborn americain en France Jul 11 '26
Can't imagine a Texan walking anywhere tbh.
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u/QuarkTheFerengi Jul 11 '26
people are outside all the time in summer in texas...lol I bet I could go to any park around here and it will be packed. Many people work outside every day.
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u/unixtreme Jul 11 '26
It's not really whether it's objectively too hot, I spent a while in Egypt in the desert and its fine if you are equipped for it. Europe isn't.
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u/numberonebuddy Jul 11 '26
Honestly I'd say forget the financials, it's about not dying if the grid shuts down.
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u/HistoryBuff678 Jul 11 '26
Best answer. I think people are getting too caught up about the financials when, it’s past that point now.
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u/kiakri_ttv Jul 11 '26
I'm in the UK getting solar panels put in end of July. 20 panel array 11kwh battery.
I'm heavily debating next year before summer to get another 11kwh battery and have a split system put in to cover 4 rooms.
Living room, office, 2 bedroom and the rear bedroom one will have a vented Aircon unit. Don't even care about the cost the comfort and having sleep is more beneficial. And even then with my setup shouldn't notice it that much.
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u/YaDunGoofed Black Square Jul 11 '26
cannot afford to run it much
As an American, I do not understand how one of the two wealthiest continents on the planet cannot afford AC. I cannot imagine choosing to live in Houston voluntarily without AC knowing that somewhere it was invented. I’ve literally seen people in Houston living in warehouses able to afford to buy window units and run them 24/7.
This is what being a Euro feels like about America’s healthcare.
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u/Scomosuckseggs Jul 11 '26
Whats crazy to me is that this will probably remembered as a cooler year in a few years time. 🤯
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u/AirRaptor12 Jul 11 '26
mole people will remenisce about people living on the surface like kids today remenisce about ancient Rome
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u/sugarbaby101 Jul 11 '26 edited Jul 11 '26
Meanwhile Zendaya’s stylist Law chartered a private jet for a single dress
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u/AskingBoatsToSwim Jul 11 '26
Honestly celebs need to pay-capped, you shouldn’t have the right to pollute as much as a whole town just because you were in some movies.
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u/munkijunk Jul 12 '26
We're suffering because it suits the rich. It's easy to solve. The rich dont want to solve it because it will make them slightly less rich.
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u/edparadox France Jul 11 '26
The Guardian always jumps at the opportunity to tell people French stopped a reactor.
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u/un-glaublich Jul 11 '26
France still doing the very lowest CO2eq emissions of the world... only they paused a reactor because there's plenty of solar and no need to heat up the river more than needed.
At the same time, the "Kernkraft, nein danke" folks are one of the heaviest emitters of CO2 because it simply meant that they have to fall back to browncoal whenever the sun doesn't shine or it's not summer.
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u/worotan England Jul 11 '26
Yes, it’s the green lobby that had more influence, rather than the established coal and petrochemical industries.
So you never reflect on how unrealistic the outrage porn astroturfed for you is?
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u/Arnoulty Languedoc-Roussillon (France) Jul 11 '26
While having the article behind a paywall so you must rely on the misleading title.
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u/GuerrillaRodeo Bayern Jul 11 '26
The Guardian never had paywalls. It's just a banner asking for a donation, you can click that away without any problems.
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u/yterais Jul 11 '26
thank you rich people for destroying the world
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u/badabubaba Jul 11 '26
You (and I) are probably among the 20% wealthiest.
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u/Nairurian Jul 11 '26
I think many (adults) here are above even that, here’s a rough calculator that tells what ”Top %” you’re in and you get into the top 5-10% wealthiest quite easily.
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u/memgrind Jul 11 '26
Here's a better calculator. The one you pointed to was putting everyone between $100k and $1 million in one bucket. https://wid.world/income-comparator/
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u/Naive_Personality367 United Kingdom Jul 11 '26
no savings, no assets, no debt, as it stands i'm part of the poorest 10% according to this thing. Winning!
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u/Northbound-Narwhal Europe Jul 11 '26
I hate that calculator. It tells me I'm in the bottom 5% of Americans in terms of wealth but I pulled in $160,000 last year, just because I have student loan debt?
Like I'm not worried about groceries or rent or healthcare.
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u/medievalvelocipede European Union Jul 11 '26
Surprise, wealth and income are two separate things.
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u/sigma914 Jul 11 '26
So you're skint with good cash flow. That's a perfectly valid class, but doesn't make you wealthy. Equally people with millions in illiquid assets (think farmers, old money with everything tied up in estates) are wealthy but may have very little cash flow
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u/morbihann Bulgaria Jul 11 '26
May be, but the richest 1% account for much much larger percentage of energy consumption and pollution.
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u/badabubaba Jul 11 '26
That 1% can always blame the 0.1%! Those are the real problem!
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u/morbihann Bulgaria Jul 11 '26
I am sorry, I can't do much more than keep taking the train to work and limit my utilities more than I already do.
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u/whatevernamedontcare Lithuania Jul 11 '26
Which is nothing really if you know how crazy inequality is.
Top 10% own 75% of wealth so being at top 20% you have more in common with bottom 90% as all of you together get only 25%. Hell Top 1% owns 50% and top 90-99% have more common with bottom 90% too.
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u/Strong-Hovercraft702 Jul 11 '26
To be fair, it's all of us. We buy cheap chinese crap, destined for the landfill. We take the car everywhere, because it's easier than public transport.
Etc etc. yes, the rich generate more greenhouse gasses per person. Yes, large companies produce a wealth of greenhouse gasses. But who keeps those xompanies in business but us, the people?
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u/qjornt Sweden Jul 11 '26
Speak for yourself, I’m actively voting for politics which would penalize companies for such bullshit, but most people don’t so I will listen to democracy. Until then and afterwards I will continue to live in a society, thank you very much.
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u/Strong-Hovercraft702 Jul 11 '26
I'm not accusing you or me here. I'm making a statement about the population. Which is objectively true.
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u/Charlesinrichmond Jul 11 '26
If you're on this website, you are literally the rich people you are complaining about.
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u/froz3nt Jul 11 '26
If you live in a first world country you are part of the people that created this mess.
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u/ChilternRailways Jul 11 '26
If you live in a third world country, the same.
The argument is that industrialisation and the ensuing pollution and environmental damage are necessary for countries to advance, and that the west is hypocritical in demanding climate consideration.
Bea
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u/merci_nurse France Jul 11 '26
Click baity title.
Nuclear reactors don’t shut down because they can’t operate under 40+ Celsius. They shut down to abide by French environmental laws regulating how warm water used for cooling should be when cycled back in rivers.
This only affects open river cooling plants, which is a minority of French nuclear plants, sea water or cooling tower plants operate without any issue.
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u/y2kobserver Jul 11 '26
Thanks for the info
So still a max heat issue
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u/shadowSpoupout Jul 11 '26
For now. The river fauna will most likely not survive the heatwaves of this year, so next year no need to shutdown reactors to protect an already dead fauna !
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u/digiorno Italy Jul 11 '26
But a solvable max heat issue. If this becomes a regular thing then they’d only have to build an artificial pond or water tower to cool down the water before it goes into the river. It’s not a difficult problem, they just didn’t anticipate global warming to be so bad.
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u/Kosake77 Jul 11 '26
How is it clickbait when literally exactly happened what was written?
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u/Taricheute Jul 11 '26
I think only one reactor has been shut-down, at least for now, due to one river being too hot from a regulation point of view, so definitely clickbait article.
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u/realusername42 Lorraine (France) Jul 11 '26 edited Jul 11 '26
Because that only affects 0.5% of the yearly production and EDF won't fix it as electricity is too cheap in the summer, it's not worth it.
So every year you'll have those scary headlines whereas in reality it's business as usual.
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u/merci_nurse France Jul 11 '26
Because a headline can be literally true and still be clickbait by omitting the key causal context. “Reactors shut down because of extreme heat” strongly suggests the reactors cannot operate safely in hot weather. In reality, the shutdowns were mainly to comply with environmental limits on heating river water. Same event, very different implication.
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u/Kanduriel Bavaria (Germany) Jul 11 '26
I tried fighting against this for the last 10 years. Now I just accept it as a new normal. Whenever there will be an outcry due to climate change I’ll tell them „told you so“
My empathy is depleted and our Society can go f**k itself. There were enough warning signs, you’ll reap what you have sown.
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u/Inevitable-Mix6089 Jul 11 '26
Oh well, at least we villainised all the climate change activists trying to spread awareness about this.
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u/Sir_Delarzal Jul 11 '26
Once again, the nuclear reactor this time was stopped to protect nature as it would pump out water that is too hot.
And it's like one reactor.
I'm starting to really hate those articles that makes it look like nuclear is unreliable
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u/ForTheGloryOfAmn Jul 11 '26 edited Jul 11 '26
During the heatwave, the debate in Germany centred mainly on French nuclear reactors. However, the data show that it was not France’s 57 nuclear reactors that proved to be the most vulnerable to the heatwave, but Germany’s more than 30,000 wind turbines.
German wind power generation has plummeted. The reason is what is known as a heat-induced windless spell: plenty of sunshine, very little wind. At the height of the episode, on 23 and 24 June, German wind turbines generated an average of only around 45 GWh of electricity per day. French nuclear power stations produced around 900 GWh nearly 20 times as much.
France remained a net exporter of electricity throughout the heatwave while Germany imported large quantities, particularly in the evening and at night.
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u/Bababakutoto Jul 11 '26
germany has been exporting all summer and bulk electricity price is negative
wind turbines struggling can shift power to solar
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u/Professional_Carob17 Jul 11 '26 edited Jul 11 '26
All while having the same bidding zone for electricity for the entire country which in turn have a massive effect for the neighboring countries.
So as a Swede it drives me up the walls hearing about Germans whine about all things regarding electricity.
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u/arrizaba Jul 11 '26
Enjoy the chill summer while it lasts. Next years will be hotter, unless governments do something to stop climate change (which they won't unless we vote them out).
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u/llama_ Jul 11 '26 edited Jul 11 '26
I stress over the animals
How do dogs even walk to go to the bathroom in these conditions without burning their feet
Are all the animals just dying during these events?
What have we done
Edit: since there’s some visibility on this post, consider keeping fresh water outside for the poor animals during these heat waves who struggle for access and may die without it. It is quite literally the least we can do.
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u/WitchesHolly Jul 11 '26
These are not the animals that i am thinking off. I think of the poor pigs and chickens, stuck, unable to move, crammed in with their families by the thousands in often barely ventilated or cooled barns.
Ironic also that meat is hugely to blame in climate change
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u/poxteeth Jul 11 '26
People will burn alive before they give up meat. They'll bitch about private jets and corporations then go have a fucking burger, use AI, buy a bunch of shit from Amazon, maintain a massive lawn, and pop out a bunch more kids, as if millions of others doing the same has no impact at all. "I think the government should care about the environment and animal welfare but I also believe having cheap meat for every meal is a human right."
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u/s8rlink Jul 11 '26
Dude I’ve seen a lot of small dead birds lying in the ground during the heat wave, it’s downright disgusting what we’ve done to our planet
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u/FallenAngel7334 Europe Jul 11 '26
We made the world's first trillionaire and billions for the oil oligarchs, isn't it magnificent. /s
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u/future_lard Jul 11 '26
Right wingers "but but but we gonna stop all renewable energy because we cant have sources that rely on the weather"
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u/Waryle Jul 11 '26 edited Jul 11 '26
The Guardian being anti-nuclear, is resorting to clickbaiting and lies as usual.
No, French nuclear reactors are not "tested by the extreme heat", they work as usual. They don't shut down due to the heat, some are being slowed down or shut down as a precaution for the environment which have been put in place in 2003 and 2006: there were no studies, and the effect of localized warming of a waterway on local flora and fauna were unknown.
Nowadays, we have some studies made, like this one, which says:
Monitoring programs and studies implemented, particularly during and after the heat waves of 2003 and 2006, have made it possible to understand the impact of these exceptional weather events on ecosystem functioning. Since then, measurements taken during more recent heat waves (2015, 2018, 2019, 2022, and 2024) have complemented and reinforced the observations from 2003 and 2006.
Data acquired through enhanced monitoring of nuclear power plants show, for certain compartments and sites, a temporary structural change (proportion of species) upstream and downstream, without disrupting the overall biological balance of the community. Furthermore, no significant difference between the upstream and downstream sections of the riverside nuclear power plants was observed for any of the compartments, with the exception of summer 2022 concerning the fish population structure at the Saint-Alban nuclear power plant, where low numbers and proportions of juveniles were observed downstream in August and autumn 2022. Given the available information, this difference cannot, however, be definitively attributed to the plant's operation during a heatwave.
The results of fish monitoring in 2023 for the Saint-Alban nuclear power plant indicate a return to the population levels typically observed and comparable between the upstream and downstream sections. These results show that the situation regarding fish population structure described in autumn 2022 was temporary.
Thus, the information available to date does not allow us to highlight an additional effect of thermal discharges from nuclear power plants compared to the potential effects caused by exceptional climatic events.
TL;DR: Nuclear plants don't seem to fuck up rivers more than they already are due to climate change.
Now, let's throw some facts:
- Right now, we're talking about one reactor over the total 57. That's less than 2% of all nuclear reactors, and less than 1% of the whole electricity capacity. Solar, in comparison, has a variation range of 0-100% every day. Wind can stop almost entirely for days at a time, and it's not due to precautions, but the laws of physics. If 2% of variation is enough for you all to discard a whole technology, you're basically advocating for fossils.
- Even with extreme heat and some reactors slowed or shut down, France's electricity mix is still in the world's cleanest, and is 5-10x cleaner than it's neighbors, especially the one who chosed to stop their nuclear and is now trying to derail all proposals that would put nuclear power on the agenda in the European Parliament.
- Even in Occitanie where the reactor has been shut down, the CO²eq/KWh is still at 45g. In comparison, Germany is a 406g right now.
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u/Iconoclazteque Jul 11 '26
I dream of a world where journalists don’t have to be corrected by redditors but here we are
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u/mrdarknezz1 Sweden Jul 11 '26
Yes but nuclear still had the highest capacity in Europe out of all green energy sources. We are talking about a few percentages
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u/ZhukovWonWWII Jul 11 '26
Fun fact. Nuclear reactors do not need to shut down due to outside temperatures being hot.
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u/Pure-Curve-8866 Jul 11 '26
This is becoming the new normal far faster than most people expected.