🇳🇮Nicaragua

Nicaragua spans three distinct climate zones: the Pacific lowlands with a pronounced dry season, daytime highs of about 31–35°C and nights of 21–24°C, the perpetually humid Caribbean coast receiving over 2,500 mm of annual rainfall, and the cooler central highlands. The country lies within the Central American Dry Corridor, making it highly vulnerable to both drought and intense tropical storms. Average temperatures have risen by about 1°C since 1950, and climate change is already affecting maize, bean and coffee crops.

The past three decades have witnessed severe climate extremes. Hurricane Mitch in October 1998 killed thousands of Nicaraguans and directly affected two million people after days of torrential rain. In November 2020, Nicaragua endured an exceptional double strike: Category 4 Hurricane Eta followed just two weeks later by Category 4 Hurricane Iota, both making landfall near Bilwi.

Hurricane Julia in October 2022 crossed Nicaragua from the Caribbean to the Pacific, causing widespread damage. Between 2014 and 2019 the Dry Corridor suffered repeated drought (2019 was the fifth straight year), with failed harvests for subsistence farmers, and Nicaragua's worst drought in 32 years took its toll on Lake Nicaragua in 2014.

Our archive covers 5 Nicaraguan cities with daily ERA5 reanalysis data going back to 1940. The hottest July afternoons are in Chinandega, with average highs around 32.8°C, while Matagalpa has the coldest January nights, with average lows near 18°C. Comparing the last decade against the 1940–1970 baseline, mean temperatures across these cities have risen by about 1.3°C.