Environment

Drought - Panama Canal

A lack of rainfall has forced the Panama Canal to reduce shipping traffic. The water supply crisis is threatening the future of this important maritime route which links the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Around six per cent of all global maritime shipping passes through the canal, mostly from the US, China and Japan. For the fifth time this drought season, which lasts from January to May, the Panamanian Canal Authority (ACP) has had to limit the largest ships passing through.

Alajuela and Gatun are the two artificial lakes that supply water to the Panama Canal. It requires around 200 million litres of water to flow down a series of tiered locks into the sea in order for each ship to pass through. Rainwater is the source of these reserves that power the locks, which can be up to as much as 26 metres above sea level. The ACP says that from 21 March to 21 April, water levels in Alhajuela fell by seven metres - more than 10 per cent.