巴拿马运河因水位下降限流

Officials have ordered restrictions on shipping traffic in the Panama Canal because of reduced water levels.

The latest restrictions limit ship crossings through the canal by 36 percent. The Panama Canal is one of the world's busiest waterways, linking the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.

Canal officials have estimated reduced water levels could cost them between $500 million and $700 million in 2024, The Associated Press reports. The losses are linked to tolls shipping companies must pay to pass through the Panama Canal.

The Central American nation is experiencing drought, or extremely dry weather. The climate condition can slow traffic and reduce safety in the 80-kilometer canal.

Panama Canal Administrator Ricaurte Vásquez said the new restrictions reduce daily ship crossings to 24. The latest cut followed additional reductions last year. There were 38 crossings a day in normal times last year.

Vásquez told the AP, "It's vital that the country sends a message that we're going to take this on and find a solution to this water problem." He added that in the first quarter of the fiscal year, the waterway saw a 20 percent reduction in goods and 791 fewer ships than during the same period the year before.

Vásquez said the reductions were part of necessary control measures to make sure water levels remain high enough to permit at least 24 ships to pass daily. Officials are hoping the situation will improve in April, when the new rainy season starts.

Weather experts blame the drought on climate change and the weather system called El Nino. El Nino is a warming of surface temperatures in the eastern and central Pacific Ocean. This event usually causes hot, dry weather in Asia and Australia and can drive weather changes in other parts of the world.

Vásquez warned that Panama must seek new water sources for both the canal's operations and drinking water. The same lakes that fill the canal also produce water for more than half of the country's 4 million people.

"The water problem is a national problem, not just of the canal," Vásquez said. "We have to address this issue across the entire country."

However, Vásquez told Reuters news agency he expects the waterway to meet its latest earnings targets, in part because of recent increases in tolls.

I'm Bryan Lynn.

The Associated Press and Reuters reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the reports for VOA Learning English.

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toll – n. money paid to authorities in exchange for using a road, bridge, waterway, etc.

vital – adj. completely necessary

fiscal year – n. a 12-month period used by businesses and governments for accounting and budgeting purposes

address – v. to deal with a situation or problem