Panama canal hit by drought

AFP English

The drought-hit Panama Canal has announced restrictions on the passage of ships for one year. The canal is facing a shortage of rainwater needed to transfer ships through locks that function like water elevators. VIDEOGRAPHIC

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00:00 [Music plays]

00:06 The 80 kilometre long Panama Canal links the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

00:11 [Music plays]

00:13 It takes 6% of world maritime trade or 14,000 ships per year.

00:18 [Music plays]

00:19 Drought driven by the El Nino phenomenon and climate change

00:23 is currently disrupting its operations.

00:26 [Music plays]

00:28 During its construction in 1914, two huge artificial lakes

00:33 were created by flooding mountain zones situated between the two oceans.

00:37 [Music plays]

00:39 They are fed by a river and rain.

00:41 [Music plays]

00:42 The locks are situated at each end of the lakes.

00:45 [Music plays]

00:47 The locks of the canal use fresh water to raise and lower the boats

00:50 according to the principle of communicating vessels.

00:53 [Music plays]

00:55 They discharge part of the water into the sea.

00:57 If the level in the lakes is low, it becomes more difficult

01:00 for the locks to raise the boats.

01:02 [Music plays]

01:07 The new locks, added in 2016,

01:10 were designed to discharge less fresh water into the ocean.

01:13 [Music plays]

01:15 They have three levels with each one having three recovery pools.

01:18 [Music plays]

01:20 During the transit of a boat, the water from the lakes

01:23 flows down into the lower pools where 60% of the water is reused.

01:27 [Music plays]

01:28 Despite this, each transit of a boat still uses 200 million litres of fresh water.

01:34 [Music plays]

01:38 [Music plays]

01:42 [Music plays]

01:46 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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