The Panama Canal (a critical shipping chokepoint handling roughly 5% of global maritime trade) will reduce its daily transit slots from the current 36–38 to 34 starting 3 September, and further to 32 from 15 September, as El Niño-driven rainfall shortfalls threaten the freshwater reserves needed to operate its locks. Canal administrator Ricaurte Vásquez warned that the dry season, normally beginning in December, could arrive at least a month early, with October and November rainfall expected to be well below average — potentially stretching a water-scarce period all the way to April or May 2027. The squeeze is already rippling through shipping markets: a single priority transit slot auctioned this month fetched a record $5.3 million, compared with a typical $50,000–$100,000 under normal conditions.