The Panama Canal is a waterway in Central America that connects the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, saving shipping time and reducing the potential danger in the journey to go around the tip of America. But it has been running low on water due to the 20-year-long persistent drought in part by El Nino weather phenomena. The water level has been depleted from 27 to 24 above sea level. Approximately 5% of world trade is passing this route and the demand from global commerce is still skyrocketing. The Officials imposed draft restrictions, which made ships lighten their load by up to 25%. As the holiday season approaches, 116 authorized vessels are waiting about 14 days to pass through the Canal, causing a bottleneck in this area. The Administration says the authorized vessels could be decreased as the drought continues. And they are looking at building another dam or connecting nearby lakes to keep the water flowing.
*Vocabularies; run low, canal, persistent, in part, El Nino, deplete, skyrocket, bottleneck, freightREFERENCE
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