A nuclear reactor at the Golfech power plant in France was recently shut down due to soaring temperatures caused by an ongoing heatwave in Europe. The reactor, known as Reactor 2, had to be taken offline as the high temperatures in the River Garonne, the plant’s cooling water source, approached the regulatory limit set by EDF, the state-owned energy company.

France’s national weather service issued a red heatwave alert for nine departments, including Tarn-et-Garonne where the plant is located. The River Garonne’s temperature is expected to hit 28C on Friday, close to the maximum limit of 28C set by a 2006 decree to avoid exceeding the temperature after water discharge from the plant, which is typically 0.2C warmer than the river.

Reactor 2 was the only operational unit at Golfech since Reactor 1 was offline for maintenance. Both reactors have a generating capacity of 1.3GW. EDF had previously halted operations at Golfech in late June for similar reasons, resuming them on July 3.

During the previous heatwave, EDF also shut down reactors at other nuclear plants to comply with environmental regulations on river temperatures. The Copernicus Climate Change Service reported that Western Europe experienced its hottest June on record this year, with temperatures surpassing the average by over 3C compared to the period between 1991 and 2020.

Experts warn that with global warming, more severe and prolonged heatwaves are expected to occur, impacting larger geographical areas. This trend suggests that the world will face more intense heatwaves in the future.