I realize that drought can limit the amount of water in the lakes that provide all of water for lockage (sea level rise or lack thereof has nothing to do with it). But didn’t Panama recently open new, larger, deeper locks so that ships larger than Panamax could cross. Could that increase in water draining out of the lakes also be a reason for the current problem?
I agree 100%
The Americans ran the Canal for 80 years. I’m sure there were El Niño weather events during that time.
Your comment about “deeper” is the key. The bigger ships run deeper and Gatun Lake is not as deep during periods of low rainfall. They didn’t make the lake deeper or increase the water in the lake when they added the 3rd lock.