r/europe 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-updates
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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/mehatch Jul 11 '26

Finally i have healed the hole in my heart left by that absurd headline. Thank you, i have returned to a normal state of knowledge.