Why Is the Ocean Cold in Panama?

From January to April, strong winds blowing south from the Atlantic travel over the country and push warm water away from Panama’s Pacific. Cold, nutrient-rich water flows up from deep waters.

The process is called upwelling.

In 2025, the failure of tropical upwelling affected the country’s fisheries,  and scientists remained unsure whether it would happen again in 2026. 

February 2026 in Panama brought strong winds and reports of colder waters. There have also been reports of the return of marine life like dorado, yellow-bellied sea snakes, and jellyfish, which all arrive seasonally with the colder waters. 

The Panama Pacific upwelling keeps corals cool and nourishes the complex marine food webs that support Panama’s fishing industry and economy. 

In 2025, for the first time on record, this upwelling didn’t occur, according to research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 

During the upwelling period early in the year, ocean temperatures near the coast typically fall to a low of about 19°C, last year, the coastal waters reached just 23.3°C at their coolest.

About 95% of the fish the country catches comes from the Pacific side, and most of that marine life is supported by upwelling.