According to a climate scenario realized in 2021, 30 of the future nuclear sites worldwide would be exposed to an aridity risk if the climate policies tackling global warming are not adhered to.
In the current study, the aridity risk consists of one to five consecutive dry months per year, endangering the water cooling process of nuclear power plants because of reduced water availability. If drought is combined with heatwaves, nuclear site outages due to adverse weather conditions would occur, failing to provide energy to an already vulnerable share of the population exposed to extremely high temperatures. This is the case for seven nuclear sites in Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India, where the hottest temperatures can be over 40 degrees Celsius. Other nuclear sites under aridity risk are located in Europe (11), China (four), Russia (three), and in the United States (two).
Number of nuclear power plants worldwide exposed to projected aridity risk in the SSP3 scenario* as of 2021, by current status
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Number of nuclear sites
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* SSP3 is the Shared Socioeconomic Pathway number three (of five), a socioeconomic future scenario in which the climate policies (for instance the Paris Agreement) to keep the global temperature increase well below 2°C are not fulfilled, leading to global warming of 4°C and regional level conflicts. The IPCC Representative Concentration Pathways combines SSPs and climate change studies to assess the policy dependence of future climate.
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IAEA. (September 29, 2022). Number of nuclear power plants worldwide exposed to projected aridity risk in the SSP3 scenario* as of 2021, by current status [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved August 25, 2024, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1337343/number-of-global-nuclear-sites-under-projected-aridity-risk/
IAEA. "Number of nuclear power plants worldwide exposed to projected aridity risk in the SSP3 scenario* as of 2021, by current status." Chart. September 29, 2022. Statista. Accessed August 25, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1337343/number-of-global-nuclear-sites-under-projected-aridity-risk/
IAEA. (2022). Number of nuclear power plants worldwide exposed to projected aridity risk in the SSP3 scenario* as of 2021, by current status. Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: August 25, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1337343/number-of-global-nuclear-sites-under-projected-aridity-risk/
IAEA. "Number of Nuclear Power Plants Worldwide Exposed to Projected Aridity Risk in The Ssp3 Scenario* as of 2021, by Current Status." Statista, Statista Inc., 29 Sep 2022, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1337343/number-of-global-nuclear-sites-under-projected-aridity-risk/
IAEA, Number of nuclear power plants worldwide exposed to projected aridity risk in the SSP3 scenario* as of 2021, by current status Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1337343/number-of-global-nuclear-sites-under-projected-aridity-risk/ (last visited August 25, 2024)
Number of nuclear power plants worldwide exposed to projected aridity risk in the SSP3 scenario* as of 2021, by current status [Graph], IAEA, September 29, 2022. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1337343/number-of-global-nuclear-sites-under-projected-aridity-risk/
