Panama Canal begins reducing crossings due to El Nino

• The Panama Canal is reducing daily ship crossings from 36 to 32 due to low water levels caused by the El Nino drought.
• Panama declared a nationwide emergency as the 2026 El Nino is expected to be the strongest in 40 years, causing severe drought in Central America.
• The canal, crucial for global trade, has also lowered maximum ship drafts and previously reduced crossings to 22 vessels in 2023 due to El Nino impacts.

PANAMA CITY – The Panama Canal on Sept 4 began reducing the number of ships passing through due to a drought caused by the El Nino weather phenomenon.

The Panama Canal Authority said low water levels in the two artificial lakes that feed the canal forced it to act.

The number of vessels allowed through the waterway connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans will be progressively lowered from 36 per day to 32 by mid-September.

Panama has declared a nationwide emergency over El Nino, a weather pattern developing over the Pacific Ocean that is triggering worldwide changes in winds, atmospheric pressure and rainfall and pushing up global temperatures.

The El Nino in 2026 is expected to be the strongest since comparable records began four decades ago.

It has not yet reached its peak but Central America is already in the throes of a severe drought, prompting Honduras and El Salvador to also declare emergencies.

The Panama Canal handles five per cent of global maritime trade and around 40 per cent of US container traffic.

It has already implemented other water conservation measures, such as lowering the maximum draft – the vessel’s depth in the water – for the largest ships.

In 2023, El Nino forced the canal authority to reduce the number of daily crossings to 22 vessels. AFP