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What's El Niño?
El Niño is a natural climate pattern that warms parts of the Pacific Ocean, affecting weather worldwide. It often brings drier conditions to some regions and heavier rainfall to others. This year's strong El Niño is causing the low rainfall in Panama, directly impacting the canal's water levels and its ability to operate at full capacity.
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Panama Canal to cut daily ships by four due to El Niño droughtRelated explainers
Why is the canal so important? How does the canal work? What are other shipping routes? What is El Niño? How does El Niño affect the UK? Is El Niño linked to climate change? How does El Niño reach the UK? El Niño's global impactThe full catalogue
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