Nukes + Climate + Heat
Posted: 31st August 2025
Europe’s nuclear power plants buckle under climate extremtes. Europe’s reliance on nuclear power faces a new climate test as heat waves scorch the continent. ‘While a lot of the nuclear public relations relates to nuclear as a sort of savior of climate change, unfortunately “While a lot of the nuclear public relations relates to nuclear as a sort of savior of climate change, unfortunately, the reverse is true,” Paul Dorfman, chair of the Nuclear Consulting Group and a senior academic at the University of Sussex, told Anadolu. “Nuclear will be a significant and early climate casualty.” This year, several European plants have reduced output or shut down altogether – not due to technical faults, but because the rivers that cool them are either too shallow or too hot.
AA 19th Aug 2025
Tripling Nuclear
“Epic” effort needed to hit 2050 nuclear power target, expertsþ the reverse is true,’ says expert Paul Dorfman. Operations of nuclear plants are being strained by warming rivers, storm surges and rising sea levels. As the summer sun scorches Europe, the effects of a warming planet are becoming increasingly tangible – and while nuclear energy is often touted as part of the solution, it too is buckling under the heat.
“While a lot of the nuclear public relations relates to nuclear as a sort of savior of climate change, unfortunately, the reverse is true,” Paul Dorfman, chair of the Nuclear Consulting Group and a senior academic at the University of Sussex, told Anadolu. “Nuclear will be a significant and early climate casualty.” This year, several European plants have reduced output or shut down altogether – not due to technical faults, but because the rivers that cool them are either too shallow or too hot.
AA 19th Aug 2025