Europe’s infrastructure isn’t ready for global warming
Three French nuclear plants halted production during this week’s record-breaking heatwave as rivers became too warm to cool them, raising questions over the long-term future of Europe’s biggest nuclear fleet.
“Nuclear power is clearly a 20th-century technology that is ill-suited to the 21st,” said Yves Marignac, an independent nuclear expert and spokesperson for the think tank négaWatt.
“The warning signs are becoming stronger every year.”
During the record heat wave, some railroads were shut down due to concerns about buckling tracks.
HOSPITALS, FUNERAL HOMES AND SCHOOLS ARE NOT AIR CONDITIONED
The extent of the looming challenge is not necessarily obvious. For example, some Paris morgues have been overwhelmed by a spike in fatalities during a record-breaking heatwave. Few homes in France are equipped with air-conditioning units, and most schools are not designed to cope with extreme heat.
107°F smashes all time German high
Germany recorded a new all-time high of 107°F, in Coschen, near the Polish border in eastern Brandenburg, according to preliminary data from the national weather service.
Records fall across Europe
Germany, Czechia, Poland and Hungary reached record temperatures of more than 105°F as a heatwave linked to thousands of deaths in western Europe spread east.
105°F Słubice, Poland
105°F Budakalász, Hungary
107°F Doksany, Czechia
World’s oceans break June heat record:
Global average sea surface temperature in June reached a record 20.98°C, capping six months of near-record ocean warmth and widespread marine heat waves that affected 82% of oceans. The long predicted El Niño, combined with ongoing greenhouse gas–driven warming, is expected to push temperatures higher, intensify weather extremes, accelerate sea-level rise, and increase coral bleaching and marine ecosystem stress.