Rainfall
El Niņo drops off a load of warm water right off the coast of South America, which
affects the weather all over the world. Included in the affected countries is the
collection right next to the drop off point: those in the Americas. This year is the worst
El Niņo Panama has ever had. Instead of getting lots of rain, like its neighbors in South
America, Panama was caught in a long drought this year (see below). They could have used
the rain of the South American countries. The rainfall this year for the Panama Canal was
thirty-five percent below normal, the driest it has been this century.
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Drought
Without any rain, the Panama Canal had a drought for fourteen months. This caused the
water level of the canal to be lowered and forced authorities to limit the weight of cargo
ships (see below). Also, the water had to be rationed because of the lack of water (see
below). Instead of too much rain, the Panama Canal suffered from too little rain.
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Water
Without enough water to go around, rationing became necessary. For example, the
residents in Panama City and the city of Colon on the Atlantic Coast, which adds up to
more than a million people, were restricted on the amount of water they could drink. This
is common during times of drought because cities need to make the water supplies last
until another rain comes.
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| Cargo Ships When El
Niņo caused the drought in Panama, the waters of the Panama Canal were lowered, so
authorities had to limit the weight of ships coming through. These limitations could have
a worldwide impact economically, and the restrictions could continue through October or
even later. Since the Panama Canal is the only waterway between the Atlantic and
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| Oceans, if ships can't travel through the canal
because they are too heavy the cargo headed for Asia from the eastern United States would
have to be sent by train or shipped by longer routes. About seventeen percent of the
vessels that use the waterway may need to reduce their cargo or their fuel because of the
limitations. However, many more would have to if the precaution hadn't been taken to keep
the water level higher than it needs to be during normal years. With more vessels being
needed to transport cargo through the canal, ship owners are now charging more for the
service.
Canal authorities took conservation steps to use about fifteen percent less water. The
canal has three locks that require millions of gallons of water to raise and lower ships.
Lake Gatun is one of the world's largest lakes, and is located on the Atlantic side of the
canal. The lake needs huge amounts of rainfall to fill the locks of the canal: fifty-two
gallons of water are used for one transit across the canal, and about thirty-eight vessels
cross each day.
The grain industry will be hit the hardest by the restrictions because of the weight of
their cargo. The United States grain companies will have to opt for different routes.
Instead of using the canal, U.S. shippers will have to head from New Orleans around the
Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, and through the Indian Ocean-- a trip that takes
forty-eight days instead of the thirty day trip through the canal.
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