The Beznau nuclear power plant in Switzerland, which is the oldest operating nuclear facility in the world, has been temporarily shut down. The reason is the high temperatures of the water in the river, which is used for cooling, DPA reported.
The water temperature in the Aare river was measured at 25 degrees Celsius on Thursday and Friday.
This was announced by the energy company Axpo, amid an ongoing heat wave in Western Europe.
The water is extracted from the Aare river to cool the plant's two reactors and then returned to the river, thus potentially contributing to the rise in temperatures.
The operator said that the shutdown of the reactors was aimed, among other things, at protecting the river's ecosystem and preventing fish deaths.
As soon as water temperatures drop again or are forecast to drop sufficiently, plans will be drawn up to restart the two reactors, Axpo said.
The Beznau nuclear power plant, located on an island in the Aare river in northern Switzerland, less than 10 kilometers from the German border, was put into operation in 1969.
The reactors' power was already halved on Tuesday.