Drought pushing Panama Canal to make rain

THE CURRENT severe  drought  caused by El Niño, has the Panama Canal Authority (ACP)  once more facing a serious emergency with plans being  analyzed plan for the seeding of clouds to cause more rain in the basin serving the waterway.

Although  Panama is a country with abundant water resources, according to the ACP’s  environmental authorities urgent action is needed.

The initiative of the cloud seeding was presented last  week to the Finance Committee of the Board of Directors of the ACP, which requested more information about the plan, reports La Prensa.

Cloud seeding is a way of manipulating the climate in order to change the amount of precipitation through the dispersion of chemicals. The current drought is expected to extend until mid-2016 due to the El Niño phenomenon.

Panama declared an emergency in August to deal with the drought, and is emphasizing a campaign to save drinking water.

This week it reiterated the ban on the use of water for recreational activities, such as carnival festivities.

The Canal depends on water from Lake Gatún to operate its locks.