{
  "id": 5690861,
  "title": "Panama Canal begins reducing crossings due to El Nino",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/05/panama-canal-begins-reducing-crossings-due-to-el-nino-5690861",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-05T01:58:44.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Channel News Asia",
    "slug": "channel-news-asia",
    "url": "https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/panama-canal-reduce-crossings-el-nino-6364126"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "The Panama Canal has started reducing the number of ships passing through due to a drought caused by the El Nino weather phenomenon. According to RTE News, the number of vessels allowed through the waterway will be progressively lowered from 36 per day to 32 by mid-September. This decision was made due to low water levels in the two artificial lakes that feed the canal.\n\nThe Panama Canal handles 5% of global maritime trade and around 40% of US container traffic. To conserve water, the canal has already implemented measures such as lowering the maximum draft for the largest ships. In 2023, El Nino forced the canal authority to reduce the number of daily crossings to 22 vessels.\n\nPanama has declared a nationwide emergency over El Nino, which is expected to be the strongest since comparable records began four decades ago. Central America is already experiencing a severe drought, prompting Honduras and El Salvador to also declare emergencies, as reported by RTE News and Free Malaysia Today.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 5,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Malay Mail",
        "title": "How El Nino-driven drought is squeezing the Panama Canal and putting global supply chains at risk",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/04/how-el-nino-driven-drought-is-squeezing-the-panama-canal-and-putting",
        "published": "2026-09-04T13:00:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "Panama Canal begins reducing crossings due to El Nino",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/04/panama-canal-begins-reducing-crossings-due-to-el-nino-5678264",
        "published": "2026-09-04T23:39:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "New Straits Times",
        "title": "Panama Canal begins reducing crossings due to El Nino",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/04/panama-canal-begins-reducing-crossings-due-to-el-nino",
        "published": "2026-09-04T23:53:21.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "RTE News",
        "title": "Panama Canal begins reducing crossings due to El Niño",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/05/panama-canal-begins-reducing-crossings-due-to-el-nino",
        "published": "2026-09-05T00:37:44.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}