🇵🇾Paraguay

Paraguay lies entirely landlocked between 19° and 27°S in the heart of South America, spanning approximately 406,752 km² divided starkly by the Paraguay River into two profoundly different regions — the humid subtropical eastern region (Región Oriental) comprising roughly 40% of the territory with Cfa Köppen climate, dense Atlantic Forest remnants, fertile red soils, and 1,400–1,700 mm annual rainfall sustained by Atlantic moisture, and the vast semiarid western Gran Chaco (Región Occidental) covering 60% of the country with BSh climate, thorn forest and scrubland, impermeable clay soils, fierce summer heat (often the hottest temperatures recorded anywhere in South America), and only 500–800 mm rainfall concentrated in the November–March wet season. Topography is predominantly flat to gently rolling plains with elevations rarely exceeding 200 m in the east and gradually descending westward across the Chaco toward the Pilcomayo and Paraguay rivers.

Asunción at 25°S on the eastern bank of the Paraguay River averages 27°C in January and 18°C in July with roughly 1,400 mm of rain distributed year-round but peaking November–March, plus oppressive summer humidity often exceeding 80%. Ciudad del Este in the far east near Iguazú Falls registers 28°C in January and 18°C in July with over 1,700 mm — the wettest zone influenced by Atlantic systems and occasional subtropical cyclones.

Encarnación on the Paraná River records similar temperatures with 1,500 mm. The Gran Chaco interior around Mariscal Estigarribia endures extreme conditions: 30°C in January (daily maxima regularly surpassing 42°C), 20°C in July, and only 650 mm annually, making it one of the hottest inhabited regions on Earth during summer with absolute maxima reaching 45–47°C.

The severe 2019–2021 Paraná-Paraguay River megadrought saw water levels drop to their lowest in 77 years, severe river navigation, severe agriculture, triggering emergency water rationing in Asunción, and causing estimated economic losses exceeding $400 million. The severe October 2022 Asunción heatwave broke records at 45.0°C.

Recurrent massive Gran Chaco wildfires during 2019–2020 burned over 2 million hectares fueled by severe drought and deforestation. The July 1983 severe Paraná River floods inundated vast areas — the worst in a century. Accelerating Chaco deforestation (Paraguay recorded the highest deforestation rate in South America from 2010–2020, losing over 4 million hectares) amplifies local warming, reduces moisture recycling, and intensifies both drought and flood extremes.

Our archive covers 0 Paraguayan cities with daily ERA5 reanalysis data going back to 1940.