Rainy season set to end early

PANAMA’S rainy season is forecast to  end early this year raising concerns for areas of the country previously affected by drought.

Civil defense agency (Sinaproc) Director José Donderis said that the dry season is expected to begin in mid-November.

He said until then, the country would continue to receive rain, but without the high winds that have been recorded so far in the rainy season.

The early end to the rainy season has raised concerns due to low levels of rain that have fallen in some areas of the country, and in particular the Azuero region. The area has many farms that could be threatened by a lack of rain that has been blamed on the El Niño phenomenon.

The rains that have fallen in the last few months have not been sufficient to replenish the area, which experienced a drought earlier this year, when a state of emergency was declared.