Authorities managing the Panama Canal are reducing daily ship crossings over the coming months due to a severe drought. The decision is raising concerns about the impact on global logistics.

The 80-kilometer canal in Central America that links the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans is one of the world's key sea shipping routes.

The canal watershed has been hit by a record drought due to the effects of the El Nino phenomenon, in which ocean temperatures become higher than usual near the equator off Peru. The precipitation for October was the lowest on record since 1950.

The Panama Canal Authority says water levels in a lake that is part of the canal route and supplies water for vessels to pass through continued to decline to unprecedented levels for this time of year.

It says the number of daily booking slots was cut from an average 36 to 31 since Wednesday, and will be gradually reduced to 18 in February.

Authority officials say the United States generated the largest volume of cargo transiting through the canal last year, followed by China and Japan.

They have already taken measures to limit the size of vessels that can cross the waterway.