The Government of Panama has extended until next May the state of environmental emergency decreed seven months ago in case of a prolonged drought, which is especially strong this year and affected the neuralgic interoceanic canal. 

It is an extension that the Executive approved on December 27 to extend until May 31, 2024. The environmental emergency decreed on May 30 expired on December 31. 

"The extension is based on climate forecasts that indicate that the dry season may be prolonged until the middle of next year," the presidency said.  

Panama's climate system is governed by a rainy and a dry season. The first begins in May and lasts approximately until November. The second goes from December to April, except for the Caribbean slope, where it rains almost all year round, according to the Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology. 

Last May, the government explained that the measure was based on the fact that high temperatures, evaporation, and lack of rainfall were the preamble to the arrival of the El Niño phenomenon, which would reduce the water supply for human consumption and agricultural activity throughout the country. 

In addition, the impact of this climatic phenomenon is attributed to the unusual drought in the Panama Canal basin and the fact that the main lake that supplies it, the Gatun, is below its normal levels, which forced the restriction of the passage of ships through the waterway that connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. 

In this sense, the authorities are calling on the population to use drinking water consciously, without the possibility of rationing the liquid having been raised so far. 

The state of emergency allows unique resources to be channelled to deal with the consequences of the drought through special contracts by the ministries of Agricultural Development, Environment and Health, the National Authority of Public Services (Asep) and the Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology, according to official information. 

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