The Panama Canal (a key Central American waterway handling around 5% of global maritime trade) will reduce the number of vessels permitted to cross daily from 38 to 34 beginning September 3, and further to 32 from September 15, while also imposing new draught restrictions, as severe drought linked to the El Niño climate phenomenon has pushed rainfall 34% below the historical average since May and cut water inflows to the canal's basin by 44%. Panama has declared a national water emergency alongside Honduras and El Salvador, with eleven watersheds under stress. The disruption highlights the canal's acute vulnerability to a strengthening El Niño that US weather authorities say has a greater than 90% chance of reaching its most intense category by early 2027.