In summary Climate change leads to less rain and more heat. It creates trouble for the Panama Canal, because fewer ships are allowed to pass. The canal could lose up to NOK 7.3 billion this year alone due to drought. The future of the canal may be in danger, as climate change leads to more drought. Each ship that passes the canal needs around 196 million liters of water, equivalent to the consumption of half a million Panamanians. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAI. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. Panama Canal toil. Drought means that there is little water in the canal, which means that fewer ships can pass. Today, around 5 percent of the world’s maritime transport passes through the canal, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). That may be about to change. Usually 38 large vessels are allowed to pass each day. Now the number is almost halved. On Tuesday, however, there was a happy announcement that the authorities are increasing the number to 27, writes the Reuters news agency. The governing authorities in the Central American country have previously estimated that the channel could lose up to 7.3 billion Norwegian kroner this year alone, writes newspaper El País. And not only that: the future of the channel as we know it could be in danger. Climate change is responsible for that. Slower and more expensive Ever since the canal opened in 1914, it has been very important for world trade. It makes it possible to sail from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean – without taking the long trip around the southern tip of the continent. The excavation of the Panama Canal took several years. After delays, he opened in 1914. Photo: NTB The transport company has thus been able to save time on the sailing loads. And time is – as is well known – money. The Suez Canal in Egypt has also saved the company a lot of money by shortening the sea route between Asia and Europe. According to the IMF, around 15 percent of the world’s maritime transport usually goes through the canal. But the Suez Canal also has its challenges now. The Houthi militia in Yemen has attacked several ships in the Red Sea in recent months. According to the Wall Street Journal, the amount of cargo transported through the Panama Canal or the Suez Canal has decreased by over a third. Hundreds of ships rather than the long way around. That means higher prices and longer waiting times for companies – and consumers, like you and me. Lack of water But unlike the Suez Canal, the Panama Canal needs the supply of enormous amounts of water to function. The water must be deep for the huge cargo ships to pass. Most of the water comes from artificial lakes. Usually, the amount of water has not been a problem, as Panama is one of the world’s wettest countries. But last year it rained about 30 percent less than average, according to the New York Times. There was not much water to be found in Lake Alhajuela in April 2023. Photo: Luis Acosta / AFP The worst was in October. It was the driest month ever recorded in the area. Then it rains 41 percent less than normal, writes the BBC. It also led to less water in the lake. From the end of 2022, the depth has decreased from approximately 27 to 24.8 meters, according to El País. It may not sound like much, but it is challenging enough that the authorities have already lowered the limit on how many ships are allowed to pass each day. They hope that the drought will end at the end of May, but only time will tell if that happens. Why is there a drought? In the last ten years, Panama has experienced more and more periods of severe drought. – It is critical, says Anne Sophie Daloz. She does research on, among other things, precipitation at Cicero, center for climate research. – In this region we see both the consequences of climate change and the consequences of natural variations, such as El Niño. The weather phenomenon El Niño occurs naturally every few years. Then the surface water in parts of the Pacific becomes abnormally warm. It can, among other things, affect rainfall in areas, including in Central America. But climate change has also led to an increase in drought in Central America, shows the latest report from the International Climate Panel (IPCC). More drought in the future There will also be more drought in the future, says the researcher. – In Central America, as in many other parts of the world, there is an increase in extreme events, including drought. This can happen again, explains Daloz. Anne Sophie Daloz at Cicero describes the situation for the Panama Canal as critical. Photo: Cicero She believes that the authorities and business must work hard to find solutions for the future. – Access to water will be a problem in this region. Good adaptation strategies are needed that work for both society and nature, not just the shipping industry, says the researcher How much water are we actually talking about? Every single ship that passes the canal needs around 196 million liters to do so. It is equivalent to the consumption of half a million Panamanians, according to the New York Times.
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Drought and climate change create trouble for the Panama Canal – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
