Hungarian authorities are set to begin the controlled sinking of two 80-metre barges near the Paks nuclear plant later on Friday to lift Danube water levels and help the facility keep its two turbines running. Prime Minister Peter Magyar said the move is a short-term response to historic drought and record-low river levels that have left the plant operating at around 25% of capacity because it draws coolant from the Danube. The government said the barges could raise the water level by 20 centimetres in the near term, while a riverbed sill (submerged dam-like structure) announced on Wednesday is expected to increase it by up to 1 metre over the coming weeks. The strain on Paks comes as drought across Europe hits electricity generation, shipping and public health systems, and after Romania shut its last working reactor on Thursday.