swarm

Scientists say warmer waters in the North Sea due to climate change have created conditions allowing jellyfish to thrive and reproduce.

Four reactor units at one of France’s largest nuclear power stations have been forced to shut down due to a swarm of jellyfish in the plant’s water pumping stations, French energy group Electricite de France (EDF) said.

Three reactor units were automatically shut down on Sunday evening at Gravelines on the English Channel, followed by the fourth early on Monday morning, EDF said, adding that the safety of the plant, its employees and the environment was not at risk.

“These shutdowns are the result of the massive and unpredictable presence of jellyfish in the filter drums of the pumping stations,” EDF said in a statement.

The plant in northern France is one of the largest in the country and is cooled from a canal connected to the North Sea.

Teams were carrying out inspections to restart the site “in complete safety”, EDF said, adding the reactors that were shut down are expected to restart on Thursday.

The beaches around Gravelines, between the major cities of Dunkirk and Calais, have seen an increase in jellyfish in recent years due to warming waters and the introduction of invasive species.

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists wrote in 2021 that jellyfish swarms incapacitating nuclear power plants is “neither new nor unknown” and there was substantial economic cost due to the forced closure of power plants.

Scientists are currently exploring ways to avert closures due to sea swarms, including using drones to map the movement of jellyfish, which would allow early intervention.

“Jellyfish breed faster when water is warmer, and because areas like the North Sea are becoming warmer, the reproductive window is getting wider and wider,” Derek Wright, marine biology consultant with the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told the Reuters news agency.

“Jellyfish can also hitch rides on tanker ships, entering the ships’ ballast tank in one port and often getting pumped out into waters halfway across the globe,” he said.

An invasive species known as the Asian Moon jellyfish, native to the Pacific Northwest, was first sighted in the North Sea in 2020. The species, which prefers still water with high levels of animal plankton, such as that in ports and canals, has caused similar problems before in ports and at nuclear plants in China, Japan, and India.

EDF said it did not know the species of jellyfish involved in the shutdown, but this is not the first time jellyfish have shut down a nuclear facility, though such incidents were “quite rare” – the last effect on EDF operations was in the 1990s.

There have been cases of plants in other countries shutting down due to jellyfish invasions, notably a three-day closure in Sweden in 2013 and a 1999 incident in Japan that caused a major drop in power output.

Experts say overfishing, plastic pollution and climate change have created conditions for jellyfish to thrive and reproduce.

EDF said there was no risk of a power shortage due to the shutdown, saying other energy sources, including solar power, were operational.

Popstar Peter Andre has opened up about his terrifying experience of being stalked during a chat with his daughter Princess on her new ITV show, The Princess Diaries

Peter Andre has opened up about a terrifying ordeal where he was targeted by a persistent stalker who sent him numerous death threats during his daughter Princess’ ITV show, The Princess Diaries.

During a deep chat with her dad, the 18-year-old opened up about the “weird messages” she received online – leaving Peter horrified. Princess revealed people would ask to see feet pics, with others asking if she was now legal.

Expressing why he was so worried Peter explained: “I had one stalker, who was a violent stalker that had threatened to kill me on one of the shows. I was touring with Bobby Brown, and on the night of the Sydney show, 26 police officers came and surrounded the building,” he said. It comes after Katie Price worries fans with appearance in family photo after explaining weight loss.

READ MORE: Katie Price shares cryptic post about motherhood amid Princess Andre ‘rift’READ MORE: Katie Price and Princess Andre ‘feud’ deepens: 18th birthday ‘blow out’ and ‘jealousy’

“They thought the guy was going to come and kill me that night,” Peter explained, leaving his daughter in utter shock. He then revealed he was 19 at the time.

Peter has previously spoken about the terrifying ordeal, shortly after Strictly’s Shirley Ballas‘ stalker, Kyle Shaw, had been sentenced.

Kyle Shaw, 37, pleaded guilty at Liverpool’s Crown Court on February 25, admitting the charges that took place between August 31, 2017, and November 9, 2023.

In his column for OK!, the father-of-five shared his own chilling experience with a stalker, which led to 26 police officers being called to the venue where he was performing in Australia due to the barrage of death threats he had received.

He penned: “I was reading about Shirley Ballas’s stalker avoiding jail. It’s strange – I think some people read these terrible stories and somehow don’t believe they’re real. They’re very real. It happens to a lot of people in the public eye.”

He went on to say: “Now, you may not believe me but it happened to me. In 1992 or 93, I was touring with Bobby Brown in Australia.

“At one of the concerts in Sydney, there were 26 police at the venue who were present on this particular night because of a series of death threats that had been made to me from someone who’d been stalking me for a long time. One day, I’ll tell the whole story..”

Peter previously demanded action to “eliminate” the crime of stalking following Shirley’s terrifying experience which grabbed headlines.

In an earlier column, the pop star revealed he’d “seen a lot of stories about stalking”, including a disturbing incident involving tennis ace Emma Raducanu.

The 22 year old was compelled to halt a match against Karolina Muchova at the Dubai Tennis Championships after spotting a man in the crowd who had given her a letter at her hotel the day before.

“It’s really interesting because stalking has been going on for years,” Peter said.

“I remember the 1992 movie, The Bodyguard, focused on the stalking of celebrities. Social media isn’t helping, as it makes it easier to track someone down. But this has been going on for a long time and I hope we find a way to eliminate this sort of thing. My thoughts are with both Shirley and Emma.”

Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads.