CTVR Newsfeed for July 13, 2025
When even nuclear reactors can’t handle the heat, it’s a clear warning: the climate crisis isn’t coming, it’s here, testing everything we thought was resilient.
Extreme Heat Shuts Down Some Nuclear Reactors in Europe
Sachi Kitajima Mulkey | New York Times
Takeaways
As Europe grapples with record-breaking heatwaves, nuclear power plants often hailed as a climate solution are being forced to shut down or curtail operations because nearby rivers and oceans are too warm to provide safe cooling. This reveals an under-discussed vulnerability: even low-carbon energy sources are not immune to climate change, and grid resilience planning must now account for a hotter, more volatile planet.
The situation also highlights a critical adaptation challenge: it’s not enough to build clean energy—we must ensure it can operate reliably under future climate extremes, from heatwaves to droughts to rising sea levels.
Notable Points
At least three reactors—two in Switzerland’s Beznau plant and one in France’s Golfech plant were shut down due to river temperatures exceeding safe cooling limits (25–28°C).
Plant operators emphasized the need to avoid additional stress on river ecosystems, as overheated discharge water can harm fish, reduce oxygen levels, and trigger algal blooms.
Shutdowns due to heatwaves are no longer rare; while some reactors stayed online during the 2022 heatwave, this is the first time Beznau had to fully shut down because of water temperatures.
Despite the shutdowns, both France and Switzerland reported stable power grids, with hydropower and other sources compensating for the lost nuclear generation.
Most European and U.S. nuclear reactors were built in the 1960s–1980s, before climate change was factored into their design; raising concerns about long-term operational resilience.
A 2024 French audit projected that electricity lost due to climate-related nuclear disruptions could triple or quadruple by 2050, underscoring the growing challenge.
While Swiss plants are certified to handle air temperatures up to 40°C, water temperatures present a distinct challenge, as overheated intake water undermines cooling system safety.
CTVR Take
When most people hear the term “climate change” they think about sea level rise or perhaps about polar bears perched precariously on floating ice. The fact is that climate change is changing the rules by which our civilization operates; this story about nuclear plants having to shut down due to high river temperatures is yet another example.
Lingering high pressure systems cut wind speeds, making wind power less effective. Changing precipitation patterns dry out reservoirs and force dams to halt electrical generation. Hot, dry weather and long electrical transmission lines set up perfect conditions for the kinds of massive wildfires the West Coast of North America and some areas in the Mediterranean Basin see every year now.
Climate change is no longer something in the future. It is our present. We must adapt.
Learn More on CTVR
Fertilizer runoff will likely force more drinking water restrictions, say experts
Kevin Hardy | Phys.org
Takeaways
Iowans are being asked to refrain from watering lawns, washing cars, and filling pools; not because the state is in a drought, but because agricultural runoffs of nitrates is making public water dangerous for human consumption. These high levels are mainly caused by the use of nitrogen fertilizers on row crops and by runoff from piles of manure at dairy and beef farms.
Notable Points
Federal law limits nitrate levels in drinking water due to nitrates’ association with infant asphyxiation and cancer. Unfortunately, nitrogen fertilizer and nitrogen in the waste streams of concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) seep into the water table in rural areas like Iowa and Kansas and the problem worsens with heavy rains seen as a result of climate change.
Nitrate levels in states like Iowa and Kansas are extremely high, but the article mentions that nitrate levels are a rising concern from “California to the Chesapeake Bay.” In some areas in California’s Central Valley, one of the U.S.’s most important regions for vegetable cultivation, “nearly a third of drinking and irrigation wells exceed federal nitrogen standards,” according to the article.
While the state of Iowa is partially funding an area of wetland development designed to attenuate nitrate runoff upstream of Des Moines, one of the unfortunate reactions of the state government has been to cut funding for nitrate monitoring in rivers. Larry Weber, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Iowa is quoted as saying “The agricultural system doesn’t want this unfortunately difficult information to be made available.” The result? The state is shutting down 75 nitrate monitoring stations next year.
Agriculture is big business in Iowa, and the incumbents in this business are incentivized to maintain the status quo, no matter how damaging the status quo may be longer term to the environment and to human health.
CTVR Take
For several years, I was going to an annual regenerative farming conference in Pratt, Kansas, a city mentioned in the article as having nitrate levels in the water system exceeding federal levels.
Speaking with farmers and ranchers at these events, I was struck by the number of people who talked about incidents of cancer and other serious, strange and rare medical conditions in their families and communities.
This article frames the issue of nitrates in the drinking water as agricultural producers versus urban and suburban consumers, but, from my perspective, this “us versus them” perspective is fundamentally flawed. Farmers drink water from wells on their property that is very high in nitrate levels. They walk through fields soaked in poison. Is it any wonder that so many farmers are suffering from “rare” diseases?
Our agricultural system is out of balance. The Green Revolution’s use of fertilizer and pesticides did contribute to many more people having food to eat but the unintended consequences are just starting to be seen in the areas of human and planetary health.
Learn More on CTVR
Digital Hyphae
Climate change has increased the odds of extreme regional forest fire years globally | Nature Communications
Nanoplastics Make Up Most of the Ocean’s Plastic Pollution | Scientific American
Extreme Heat Endangers AI Data Centers | Scientific American
The long slow death of Norway's wild salmon | Phys.org
Turning Olivine Into Valuable NMC Battery Components | IEEE Spectrum
Why Did Texas Flash Flood Waters Rise So Quickly? | Scientific American
Promoting targeted heat early warning systems for at-risk populations | Nature Climate Change