Drought affecting Panama Canal is a problem by and for the U.S.
1 year, 3 months ago

Drought affecting Panama Canal is a problem by and for the U.S.

LA Times  

A cargo ship headed toward the Pacific Ocean after passing through the Panama Canal. That’s how Ricaurte Vásquez Morales, an official with the Panama Canal Authority, described a possible water crunch in the region as a historic drought threatens the trade route he oversees. Although the canal connects two oceans, its operation depends upon fresh water from a nearby lake, which has been dwindling during a 20-year drought. I also wonder what’s going to happen to the local residents facing a “slight competition” for fresh water. Last year Lake Mead’s water levels were so low that local authorities found bodies that had been dumped there decades earlier.

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History of this topic

Trump threatens to try to take back the Panama Canal, Panama's president balks at the suggestion
18 hours, 20 minutes ago

Trump threatens to try to take back the Panama Canal, Panama's president balks at the suggestion

New Indian Express  

The president-elect opened the speech by saying that "we want to try to bring everybody together. Then he suggested Democrats have “lost their confidence” and are “befuddled” after the election but eventually will ”come over to our side because we want to have them.” Atop a list of grievances — some old, some new — was the Panama Canal. “We’re …

Study says El Nino, not climate change, was key driver of low rainfall that snarled Panama Canal
7 months, 3 weeks ago

Study says El Nino, not climate change, was key driver of low rainfall that snarled Panama Canal

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — The climate phenomenon known as El Nino — and not climate change — was a key driver in low rainfall that disrupted shipping at the Panama Canal last year, scientists said Wednesday. Human-caused climate change was not a primary driver of the Central American country’s unusually dry monsoon season, the World Weather Attribution group concluded, after comparing the …

Panama Canal traffic cut by more than a third because of drought
11 months ago

Panama Canal traffic cut by more than a third because of drought

Associated Press  

PANAMA CITY — A severe drought that began last year has forced authorities to slash ship crossings by 36% in the Panama Canal, one of the world’s most important trade routes. Panama Canal Administrator Ricaurte Vásquez now estimates that dipping water levels could cost them between $500 million and $700 million in 2024, compared to previous estimates of $200 million. …

A drought has forced authorities to further slash traffic in Panama Canal, disrupting global trade
11 months ago

A drought has forced authorities to further slash traffic in Panama Canal, disrupting global trade

The Independent  

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Drop in Panama Canal traffic because of severe drought could cost up to $700 million
11 months ago

Drop in Panama Canal traffic because of severe drought could cost up to $700 million

LA Times  

Severe drought has forced authorities to slash ship crossings by 36% in the Panama Canal. A severe drought that began last year has forced authorities to slash ship crossings by 36% in the Panama Canal, one of the world’s most important trade routes. On Wednesday, Panama Canal Administrator Ricaurte Vásquez said authorities would cut daily ship crossings to 24, after …

Christmas supplies at risk as Panama Canal suffers drought
1 year ago

Christmas supplies at risk as Panama Canal suffers drought

The Independent  

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How unpredictable weather is squeezing the arteries of global trade
1 year, 1 month ago

How unpredictable weather is squeezing the arteries of global trade

The Telegraph  

The Panama Canal has a water problem: there’s not enough of it Ships travel through the canal using a system of freshwater locks. “Rain last month was half what it should have been,” says Steven Paton, director of the Physical Monitoring Program at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. Extreme weather conditions are increasingly disrupting key shipping routes around the world, …

From bananas to LNG, Panama Canal backlog has wide-reaching implications
1 year, 3 months ago

From bananas to LNG, Panama Canal backlog has wide-reaching implications

Al Jazeera  

Traffic jam at Panama Canal is a snapshot of how goods move in our globalised world, and the collateral damage at stake. “It didn’t really become critical to the world economy until the 90s and then into the early 2000s, with the rise of China as the manufacturing hub for so many consumer goods,” said Andrew Thomas, an international business …

Panama’s doomsday warning is not about holiday shopping
1 year, 3 months ago

Panama’s doomsday warning is not about holiday shopping

Al Jazeera  

The nation is where the climate crisis, the refugee crisis and the inequalities of capitalism intersect. As historian David McCullough notes in his book The Path Between the Seas, US President Theodore Roosevelt viewed the Panama Canal as “indispensable” to the “global destiny” of the United States. To that end, the US acquired its very own de facto colony in …

Panama Canal announces prolonged transit restrictions due to drought
1 year, 3 months ago

Panama Canal announces prolonged transit restrictions due to drought

Al Jazeera  

Low water levels have created a backlog of cargo vessels in one of the world’s key maritime shipping passageways. The Panama Canal, a vital passageway that moves 6 percent of the world’s maritime commerce, will extend transit restrictions due to drought-induced low water levels. The Panama Canal plays a key role in maritime transport by allowing ships to cross with …

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