A large swarm of jellyfish clogs cooling-system pumps at the Gravelines nuclear power station in northern France, leaving the site with only one reactor operating at full capacity. Reports say the issue affects plant operations as jellyfish get drawn into the cooling system, disrupting normal cooling and prompting shutdowns of additional units.
The outlets describe the same incident: millions of jellyfish are pulled into the facility’s intake and cooling equipment, requiring operators to reduce or halt reactor activity to avoid safety risks. Coverage focuses on the scale of the jellyfish influx and the operational impact on the plant’s reactor fleet. While the Independent emphasizes that only one of six reactors remains at full capacity, the Mirror highlights the “major” nature of the disruption and frames it as an emergency closure to prevent a potential disaster.
Both accounts attribute the disruption to the clogging effect of jellyfish in the cooling pumps, indicating that the immediate cause is a marine intrusion rather than a reactor or fuel problem.
