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Jellyfish Swarm Triggers Complete Shutdown of Gravelines Nuclear Plant
Four of six reactors at Western Europe's largest nuclear plant shut down after jellyfish clogged cooling filters, linked to warmer seas and increased jellyfish populations, EDF said.
- On August 11, 2025, all reactors at the large nuclear facility near Dunkirk in northern France were completely shut down after jellyfish blocked the pumps responsible for cooling the plant.
- The shutdown occurred amid a major European heatwave, which warmed waters and expanded jellyfish populations, making their presence massive and unpredictable.
- Four of Gravelines' six reactors stopped automatically to prevent overheating, while two others were offline for scheduled summer maintenance, and EDF worked to restart production safely.
- EDF stated the incident posed no risk to facility safety, personnel, or environment and assured there was no power shortage as other energy sources, including solar, remained operational.
- This rare event highlights the climate-linked risks to nuclear infrastructure and follows similar jellyfish-related closures in Sweden, Scotland, and China.
62 Articles
62 Articles
The plant had been hit by jellyfish since 1990
Swarm of jellyfish overwhelms nuclear power plant, causes several reactors to shut down — here's what happened
A swarm of jellyfish has forced the partial shutdown of one of Europe's largest nuclear power plants, according to The Weather Channel. While officials stressed that the situation posed much more of an inconvenience than a threat to public safety, the circumstances highlighted the impact that wildlife can have on human infrastructure. It also cast a spotlight on how rising temperatures on land and in the world's oceans are altering human-wildl…
More and more diffused in the warm seas, they have clogged the filters of the cooling water in Gravelines, in the north of the country. Sunday evening four reactors have...
A first reactor at the Gravelines nuclear power plant in the North was able to restart on Wednesday 13 August. Production had been completely paralyzed since Monday due to the massive arrival of jellyfish. Marine animals invade the coast.
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