Houthi rebels began attacking vessels passing into the Red Sea through the Bab al-Mandab Strait in early December.

Trade volumes through the Suez Canal dropped by 40% as ships diverted around southern Africa.

Trade through the Panama Canal, the second-busiest man-made shipping lane, has also dipped by 30% since November.

But while the Suez’s problems are geopolitical, those in Panama are climatic. The lakes that feed the canal are drying up, thanks to annual droughts that may be worsening as the climate warms.

The series of locks connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific via Gatun Lake are close to the point of being too shallow to let the largest container ships through.

Photo by Eilis Garvey on Unsplash