Panama Canal Faces Severe Drought, Restricts Ship Transits Amid El Nino Phenomenon
The Panama Canal is implementing restrictions on daily ship transits and vessel drafts due to a severe drought exacerbated by the El Nino climate phenomenon. Starting Friday, the canal will reduce daily traffic from 36 to 32 ships, and the permitted draft of vessels will decrease from 15.24 meters to 14.63 meters. This marks the second time such restrictions have been imposed, with the drought expected to last until mid-2027. Panama has declared an emergency over El Nino, which causes global changes in winds and rainfall and erratic weather conditions. The canal, which connects the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans and handles five percent of global trade, relies on freshwater from rainfall stored in artificial lakes for its lock operations. Each transiting ship requires approximately 200 million liters of water, which is then discharged into the sea. The accumulated rainfall deficit between April and August was 35.8 percent below the historical average, with no short-term recovery signs. Forecasts suggest the 2... 
