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Video length: 4 min
Panama: due to drought, the canal is operating slowly
The fear of drought persists in the south of France and even in Spain. A phenomenon which is also critical in Panama, the canal through which 40% of containers destined for the United States pass is operating slowly.
(France 2)
The fear of drought persists in the south of France and even in Spain. A phenomenon that is also critical in Panama, the canal through which 40% of containers destined for the United States pass is operating slowly.
It is an expressway that connects the Atlantic to the Pacific. Used every day by shipping giants, it is a strategic passage whose activity is now threatened by a historic drought. The Panama Lock opens the doors to the ocean. Huge basins fill with 200 million liters of water each time a ship passes, the equivalent of the daily consumption of a city like Paris.
The water comes from an artificial lake
There has been a shortage of water in recent months. Normally, 40 ships are allowed to cross each day, but at the start of the year, sometimes only about half had to pass. Because the canal is fed by fresh water taken from an artificial lake between the two oceans. If the lake level drops too low, larger ships may no longer be able to cross. By reducing the number of passages, the canal saved water and avoided this scenario.
