Independent TV
Showing now | Climate
![Panama Canal faces water crisis amid drought and growing demand](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/WS1n0jWI/poster.jpg?width=720)
02:47
Panama Canal faces water crisis amid drought and growing demand
The Panama Canal faces a water crisis amid drought and growing demand.
A recent study found the El Nino climate phenomenon, not climate change, drove lower rainfall last year that reduced water levels and contributed to shipping restrictions that disrupted global trade.
Panama experienced its third-driest year on record in 2023, leading the canal authority to restrict the size and number of vessels crossing the waterway that connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and serves as a vital route for maritime trade.
At times, more than 100 ships lined up and waited up to 21 days to use the canal, which is responsible for about 5 per cent of global shipping.
Up next
![Gérard Mestrallet on the challenges of bringing infrastructure to the region of AlUla](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/EWX1dt85/poster.jpg?width=320)
01:51
Gérard Mestrallet on the challenges of bringing infrastructure to the region of AlUla
![Sir George Iacobescu, chairman of the Canary Wharf Group on the investment into the historic region of AlUla](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/LSvQ5SQ1/poster.jpg?width=320)
02:07
Sir George Iacobescu, chairman of the Canary Wharf Group on the investment into the historic region of AlUla
![Oliver Ripley of sustainable hotel group Habitas talks about how AlUla challenged his preconceptions of Saudi Arabia](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/ADCX8FkA/poster.jpg?width=320)
02:00
Oliver Ripley of sustainable hotel group Habitas talks about how AlUla challenged his preconceptions of Saudi Arabia
![Thomas Kaplan of wild cat conservation charity Panthera on the mission to save the Arabian Leopard](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/mJh5g24R/poster.jpg?width=320)
02:09