The Panama Canal is very important for global trade. However, climate change has made the water level very low. This is because of a dry year due to El Niño. The low water level is a problem for big ships, affecting trade around the world. Trees can be seen above the water, which is unusual.

Some ships have to take longer routes, which increases time and cost. Others try to get a spot in the canal, which can be expensive.

The problem may get worse because Central America will have less rain in the future. Fixing this problem could be very expensive and take a long time.

Some words are hard to understand: exacerbate means to make a problem worse, protrude means to stick out, and slot means a place in a schedule.

You can watch a video about this news below.