VOA新闻杂志2024 干旱导致水位下降, 巴拿马运河运力大减（在线收听）

干旱导致水位下降, 巴拿马运河运力大减

　　Officials have ordered restrictions on shipping traffic in the Panama Canal because of reduced water levels.

　　由于水位下降，官员们已下令限制通过巴拿马运河的船只数量。

　　The latest restrictions limit ship crossings through the canal by 36 percent.

　　最新的限制措施将通过运河的船只数量限制在36%。

　　The Panama Canal is one of the world's busiest waterways, linking the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.

　　巴拿马运河是世界上最繁忙的水道之一，它连接太平洋和大西洋。

　　Canal officials have estimated reduced water levels could cost them between $500 million and $700 in 2024, The Associated Press reports.

　　据美联社报道，运河官员估计，水位下降可能会在2024年造成5亿至7亿美元的损失。

　　The losses are linked to tolls shipping companies must pay to pass through the Panama Canal.

　　这些损失与航运公司通过巴拿马运河必须支付的通行费有关。

　　The Central American nation is experiencing drought, or extremely dry weather.

　　这个中美洲国家正在经历干旱，即极端干燥的天气。

　　The climate condition can slow traffic and reduce safety in the 80-kilometer canal.

　　这种气候环境会减缓这条80公里长的运河的交通流量，降低安全性。

　　Panama Canal Administrator Ricaurte Vásquez said the new restrictions reduce daily ship crossings to 24.

　　巴拿马运河管理员里卡特·巴斯克斯表示，新的限制措施将每日通行船舶数量减少到24艘。

　　The latest cut followed additional reductions last year.

　　最近一次减少每日通行船舶数量是在去年减少的数量基础上进行的。

　　There were 38 crossings a day in normal times last year.

　　去年，在正常情况下，每日通行船舶数量为38艘。

　　Vasquez told the AP, "It's vital that the country sends a message that we're going to take this on and find a solution to this water problem."瓦斯克斯告诉美联社，“重要的是，这个国家发出信息，我们将采取行动，找到解决这个水问题的办法。”

　　He added that in the first quarter of the fiscal year, the waterway saw a 20 percent reduction in goods and 791 fewer ships than during the same period the year before.

　　他补充说，在本财年的第一季度，巴拿马运河的货运量比去年同期减少了20%，船舶量减少了791艘。

　　Vasquez said the reductions were part of necessary control measures to make sure water levels remain high enough to permit at least 24 ships to pass daily.

　　巴斯克斯表示，减少每日通行船舶数量是必要控制措施的一部分，以确保水位保持在足够高的水平，每天可以令至少24艘船通过。

　　Officials are hoping the situation will improve in April, when the new rainy season starts.

　　官员们希望4月份新雨季开始时情况会有所改善。

　　Weather experts blame the drought on climate change and the weather system called El Nino.

　　气象专家将干旱归咎于气候变化和厄尔尼诺天气系统。

　　El Nino is a warming of surface temperatures in the eastern and central Pacific Ocean.

　　厄尔尼诺现象是太平洋东部和中部水面温度升高的现象。

　　This event usually causes hot, dry weather in Asia and Australia and can drive weather changes in other parts of the world.

　　这一事件通常会导致亚洲和澳大利亚出现炎热干燥的天气，并可能会导致世界其他地区的天气变化。

　　Vasquez warned that Panama must seek new water sources for both the canal's operations and drinking water.

　　瓦斯克斯警告说，巴拿马必须为运河的运营和饮用水寻找新的水源。

　　The same lakes that fill the canal also produce water for more than half of the country's 4 million people.

　　填满运河的湖泊还为该国400万人口中的一半以上提供水。

　　"The water problem is a national problem, not just of the canal," Vasquez said. "We have to address this issue across the entire country."瓦斯克斯说：“水的问题是一个全国性的问题，而不仅仅是运河的问题。我们必须在全国范围内解决这个问题。”

　　However, Vasquez told Reuters news agency he expects the waterway to meet its latest earnings targets, in part because of recent increases in tolls.

　　然而，瓦斯克斯告诉路透社，他预计该航道将达到最新的盈利目标，部分原因是最近通行费上涨。