When the rivers ran warm: how a heatwave thinned France's nuclear export cushion

In late June 2026 a static high-pressure system settled over Western Europe and pushed riverside air temperatures in France to 42.5 C, the highest recorded across the eight river-cooled nuclear sites examined here. French nuclear reactors rely on river water for cooling and discharge it at a higher temperature, and environmental regulation limits how warm the receiving river may become. As the Garonne, the Rhône and the Seine approached their regulatory ceilings of roughly 28 C, EDF was required to reduce output at, or shut down, several reactors on those rivers. Because a river warms gradually, ...

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