Studies reveal these complications in citizens' lives.
Costa del Este and Santa María
Panama City has a natural advantage: its coastal location and the influence of sea breezes, which help moderate the heat. However, the study warns that this benefit may be lost when urban development is very dense and blocks air circulation. In areas like Costa del Este and Santa María, the combination of wide avenues, parking lots, and buildings seems to be reducing the mangroves' ability to cool the microclimate of the area. The mangroves that extend between Panamá Viejo, Costa del Este, and Santa María appear to have lost some of their capacity to regulate the temperature.
A hot city
A hot city year-round can translate to higher risks of exhaustion, poorer nighttime rest, higher electricity consumption, and greater pressure on vulnerable households. Panama is a hot city. Behind that feeling are data and indicators. Panama City is "manufacturing" its own heat. A study by Esri Panamá, the Florida State University Urban Risk Observatory, and Metromapas has uncovered an alarming reality: while global warming has increased the temperature of unmanaged forests in the canal area by 0.64°C in the last two decades, some neighborhoods in the capital have recorded increases of up to 3.8°C in the same period. This means that the way we are building is heating our environment five times faster than the global climate crisis.
Where is the city burning the most?
The study led by Carlos Gordón, a specialist in Geographic Information Technologies, highlights the phenomenon known as the urban heat island, which measures the temperature of the materials the city is built with, thus considering its roofs, streets, and pavements from space. The analysis compared the change in the city's surface temperature between the 2000-2006 and 2019-2025 periods, using NASA's Landsat satellite images. Elizabeth, who lives on the border between Ricardo J. Alfaro Avenue and San Miguelito, says that walking at noon is becoming increasingly difficult, that the pavement burns even with shoes, that the sun beats down on her skin, and that returning home after a few minutes on the street can leave a feeling close to dehydration.
Based on this data, the sectors that have suffered the most aggressive thermal transformation have been identified. Brisas del Golf and Juan Díaz lead the ranking, with an average increase of 3.8°C in surface temperature, becoming the new epicenters of extreme heat. San Miguelito as a whole is a district that presents higher temperatures—3.2°C—due to the heating effect generated by the use of materials like pavement and zinc in buildings. Meanwhile, in the urban heart, areas like Betania, Pueblo Nuevo, and Río Abajo have seen their surface temperatures rise by 2.6°C. Although the sea breeze helps, in areas like Casco Antiguo, Bella Vista, and San Francisco, increases of 2.1°C have been reflected, while in El Chorrillo, specifically, it rose by 2.37°C in the evaluated period.
Solutions n "This specific study helps to understand how the radiation that the surfaces or the 'skin' of the city receives is a factor in generating spaces that feel hotter and more uncomfortable," Gordón told La Prensa. The geospatial analysis can also serve as a guide for urban planning and help guide decisions to reduce the impact of heat in the capital. Among the measures mentioned are increasing urban tree planting, promoting the use of reflective roofs, fostering bioclimatic design in new constructions, having ventilation corridors to facilitate air circulation, and reducing impermeable surfaces such as asphalt and concrete.
