Three Nuclear Reactors in France Shutdown by Jellyfish Swarm Forces

LILLE, France – A huge swarm of jellyfish has forced a nuclear power plant in northern France to shut down three of its six reactors.

The problem happened at the Gravelines Nuclear Power Plant, which is the largest nuclear plant in Western Europe. The jellyfish clogged the pumps that bring in seawater to cool the reactors. Without proper cooling, the reactors had to be turned off.

The plant's operator, EDF, said three reactors were taken offline on Monday. A fourth reactor is now running at only half its normal power. Only one reactor is still working at full capacity, and another was already closed for planned maintenance.

EDF says the situation is not dangerous. A company statement said: "This situation has no impact on the safety of the facilities, the safety of personnel, or the environment".

This is not the first time jellyfish have caused problems at this plant. It was shut down for the same reason about a year ago. Similar incidents have also happened at nuclear plants in Sweden and Japan.

Experts say jellyfish swarms are becoming more common because of overfishing, plastic pollution, and warmer ocean waters linked to climate change. The shutdown comes as France is already facing lower nuclear power production due to heatwaves and droughts this year.