France's Golfech Nuclear Plant Shut Down Amid Extreme Heatwave

Moscow (ANTARA) - France’s national electricity company, EDF, suspended operations at the Golfech Nuclear Power Plant on Thursday after extreme weather caused temperatures in the Garonne River, which is used to cool its reactors, to rise sharply.

“Unit No. 2 at the EDF Golfech nuclear power plant was temporarily shut down on Thursday, 9 July, at 11.30 local time (16.30 WIB),” the company wrote in an official statement.

The plant’s first reactor had already been undergoing maintenance.

With the second unit taken offline, the entire nuclear facility is now effectively out of operation.

The water temperature of the Garonne River is forecast to continue rising, reaching 28 degrees Celsius on Friday.

Under French regulations, nuclear power plants are required to reduce capacity or halt electricity production entirely during periods of extreme heat.

The rule is in place to prevent river water from warming further, in order to protect the local ecosystem and aquatic life.

France, along with several other European countries, has been gripped by a severe heatwave in recent weeks.

At the end of June, France’s meteorological agency even issued its highest-level heat warning for 72 of the country’s 96 metropolitan departments, breaking an all-time record.