Panama Canal may face long-term drought 

The Panama Canal looks set to remain at low water levels as rainfall in the Central American country of Panama reaches its lowest level since 2000. Jon Davis, chief meteorologist at Everstream Analytics, said rainfall in Panama from March this year to August 22 was the lowest since the turn of the century. The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) has imposed draft and daily transit restrictions on major waterways connecting Asia and the east coast of the Americas and beyond.

According to the ACP's August 24 report, about 117 vessels on both sides of the canal were waiting to cross, compared with a normal level of about 90. Authorities prioritized vessels booked to cross and said the average waiting time for unbooked crossings was between 9 and 11 days. Of the vessels waiting to cross on August 24, about 50 had reservations and the remaining 67 did not.

Looking ahead, the outlook for the canal's water levels is not optimistic. Davis said the short-term outlook for September is "problematic," with rainfall continuing to fall and temperatures above normal across Panama.Ilya Espino, deputy director of the Panama Canal Authority, said restrictions on ship passage for the canal would be extended for a year if enough rain does not fall in the region where the canal's water bodies are located in the coming months. 

巴拿马运河或将面临长期干旱, 航运受阻

由于近来中美洲国家巴拿马的降雨量达到2000年以来的最低水平，巴拿马运河将继续处于低水位。Everstream Analytics首席气象学家Jon Davis说，从今年3月到8月22日，巴拿马的降雨量是21世纪以来的最低水平。巴拿马运河管理局(ACP)也对连接亚洲和美洲东海岸及其他地区的主要水道实施了吃水和每日过境限制。

根据ACP8月24日的报告，运河两岸约有117艘船只等待过境，而正常水平约为90艘。当局只能优先考虑已预订过境的船只，并表示未预订过境的平均等待时间为9至11天。在8月24日等待过境的船只中，约50艘有预订，其余67艘没办法预定。

展望未来，运河水位的前景并不乐观。戴维斯说，9月份的短期前景是“有问题的”，巴拿马各地的降雨量持续减少，气温高于正常水平。巴拿马运河管理局副局长伊利亚·埃斯皮诺表示，如果未来几个月运河水体所在区域不能迎来足够多的降雨，针对运河的船舶通行限制措施将延长1年。