European Heat Wave and Nuclear Facility Crisis

France is experiencing an ongoing heatwave, with temperatures exceeding 35°C in three-quarters of the country, and the nuclear power plant in southern Golfesch has been forced to shut down due to high temperatures in the Garonne River, the source of its cooling water. Orange heat alerts were issued in 11 of Spain’s autonomous regions, and the number of heat-related deaths in the country in the summer of 2024 has already exceeded 2,000. Meanwhile, the European Commission reported that 53 per cent of Europe and the Mediterranean Basin were experiencing drought in mid-May, with 19 per cent of land in Ukraine at “alert” levels, threatening crop growth.