The Panama Canal is a conduit for 6% of the global maritime traffic. But climate change is disrupting that trade. While high temperatures and little rain are the primary causes, four hurricanes over seven years have been equally devastating.
The Panama Canal is in the midst of Panama’s rainforests, which cover 68% of its land or nearly 12.7 million acres. Both depend on precipitation for survival. If the rainforests do not get ample rainfall, it trickles down to the canal. The bad news is that the canal’s authorities say that 2019 was the fifth most arid in 70 years, with rainfall 20% less than the average, all compounded by depleted reservoirs.
Indeed, water levels fell in 2015 and 2016, and shippers had to reduce the amount of cargo on their vessels — money down the drain.