Panama Canal to cap daily transits, anticipating severe El Niño

The Panama Canal Authority has announced plans to cap daily transits as of early September in anticipation of a severe El Niño season, which is expected to reduce water levels. The new measures will limit the number of vessels passing through the canal to 34 daily as of September 4, and further reduce this number to 32 as of September 15.

This decision comes after the canal previously pledged not to limit vessel passage, but has now had to backtrack due to the anticipated water level reductions. The authority also disclosed that rainfall from May through August was 34% below the historical average, with watershed inflows plummeting 44% below normal. The prolonged El Niño event could further exacerbate the situation, threatening the long-term sustainability of the waterway and local water supplies.

Brief written by urgent.news from Daily Maverick's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.