The Panama Canal Authority is imposing restrictions on the number of ships transiting the channel daily in preparation for a prolonged El Niño season that could lead to further water level declines, Reuters reports.

According to the new rules, the daily limit on passages will be reduced to 34 vessels starting September 4, and to 32 starting September 15. The restrictions will affect both types of locks: the number of slots in the Neopanamax will be reduced to nine, and in the Panamax, initially to 25, and then to 23 per day.

The decision marked a departure from the administration's May announcement, which promised not to impose transit limits this year. Before the restrictions, the canal handled an average of 35 vessels per day, with a maximum capacity of up to 40 transits.

The cause was a record drought: from May to August, precipitation was 34% below normal, and water inflow into the canal basin fell by 44%. "The experience of 2023 and 2024 has prepared us well for what we know and given us the discipline to deal with what we don't. The Canal does not improvise," said Ricaurte Vásquez, head of the Panama Canal Authority.

Previously planned reductions in the maximum permissible draft of vessels have also been postponed: the transition to the 14,63-meter mark in the Neopanamax locks has been postponed until September 2, and to 14,48 meters until October 1.

El Niño (Spanish for "little boy") is a climate process in which waters in the equatorial Pacific Ocean become unusually warm, leading to heavy rainfall in typically arid regions and drought in others. According to the UN, the peak of the current El Niño is expected between September and December of this year.