The majority of nuclear power plants operating today were constructed and put into operation long before the facts of climate change were understood. Forty percent of nuclear power stations were built along a coast. One hundred out of the four hundred and forty-three operating nuclear power reactors in the world are only a few yards above sea level. It could be said that nuclear power is on the frontline of climate change.
     Recent research indicates that global sea levels will rise more and rise faster than earlier predictions suggested. Over the next few decades there will be more frequent and more destructive extreme weather events. Strong winds and low atmospheric pressure will drive bigger storm surges that could threaten any coastal installations including nuclear power plants.
     Huge quantities of cool water are consumed by nuclear power plants which is one reason that they are often built near the ocean. However, even nuclear plants that are further inland are going to also be under threat of flooding. In addition, higher water temperatures in lakes and rivers and reservoirs will make it more difficult to keep reactors cool and avoid meltdowns. Increasingly severe droughts and wildfires only add to the threat.
    About five hundred and sixteen million people around the world live within a fifty-mile radius of at least one operating nuclear power plant. Twenty million people live within a ten-mile radius. These people will be subject to the health and safety risks of future nuclear accidents. There are efforts to design and build nuclear power plants that are more resistant to climate change. However, these changes will increase the already considerable expense that is involved in building, operating and decommissioning nuclear plants. And, of course, there is still the major problem of storing and disposing of spent nuclear fuel.
      Nuclear power is often credited with providing energy security in an increasingly turbulent world. However, climate change will challenge these old certainties. Extreme floods, droughts and storms which were once rare are becoming much more common. This extreme weather is making industry protection measures which were drafted in an earlier age ever more obsolete. Unfortunately, climate risks to nuclear power plants won’t be linear or predictable. Rising seas, storm surges and heavy rainfall are eroding coastal and inland flood defenses and will push natural and built barriers to their limits.
     The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has concluded that the vast majority of U.S. nuclear sites were never designed to deal with the future climate impacts that they face. Many have already experienced some flooding. A recent report from the U.S. Army War College also claims that nuclear power facilities are at high risk from future sea-level rise, severe storms, and cooling water shortages.
     Before even considering building more nuclear power plants, the nuclear industry must take into account how models of future weather extremes and climate impacts are likely to affect them. They should account for changing weather patterns over seasons, years and decades. In addition, they must try to assume the worst in terms of the possibility for sudden extreme events. Before a project is approved, the costing of all these necessary precautions must feed into the final forecast.
     Nuclear power generation may become a significant casualty of intensifying climate impacts. Some reactors may have to shut down soon because of climate change. This should trigger a substantial reassessment of the role of nuclear power in helping the world reach net zero carbon emissions.