A 'massive and unpredictable presence of jellyfish' has partially shut down one of Europe's biggest nuclear power plants with four out of six of its reactors taken offline

Scuba diver in Subnautica 2 — (Image credit: Unknown Worlds)

The Gravelines nuclear power station in northern France shut down several of its reactors last weekend due to an unusual problem—pumping stations in the non-nuclear part of the facility were clogged up with the 'massive and unpredictable presence of jellyfish.'

The jellyfish were said to be amassed within the filter drums of said pumping stations, causing a potential blocking hazard and forcing three of the six reactors to shut down, with a fourth being brought offline on Monday (via The New York Times). The operator of the plant, EDF, released a statement confirming that the unwanted jellyfish "had no impact on the safety of the facilities, the safety of personnel, or the environment."

A line of four nuclear power plant cooling towers are foregrounded by numerous powerlines. — (Image credit: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Mmm, delicious jellyfish gel. The proliferation of vast numbers of jellyfish in the world's oceans is attributed to warming waters caused by climate change, which I've taken to be another sign of the coming apocalypse.

Anyway, ever-increasing numbers of jellyfish in our oceans are said to be responsible for a whole host of knock-on effects, including their vast consumption of plankton (damaging potential food sources for other marine life), their tendency to clog fishing nets, and their potential to ruin your next holiday with a painful jellyfish sting.

So much so, in fact, that some researchers (and chefs) have suggested we should be eating them in an attempt to curb their numbers. I mean, I'm game if you are. Jellyfish tempura, anyone?

It's also worth mention that, given AI data centers (and their associated massive power requirements) are now springing up in vast numbers, more nuclear power plants may be the way forward—which, combined with our current jellyfish issue, suggest this might be an ever-increasing problem in years to come.

Still, while many scientists are claiming we're currently in the middle of Earth's sixth mass extinction event, jellyfish appear to be thriving—and as a result, one of Europe's biggest nuclear power plants has had to pause its operations to clear the little blighters out. A butterfly flaps its wings, and a jellyfish... err... dangles its tentacles? Something like that, anyway.

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Andy built his first gaming PC at the tender age of 12, when IDE cables were a thing and high resolution wasn't—and he hasn't stopped since. Now working as a hardware writer for PC Gamer, Andy spends his time jumping around the world attending product launches and trade shows, all the while reviewing every bit of PC gaming hardware he can get his hands on. You name it, if it's interesting hardware he'll write words about it, with opinions and everything.

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