Climate of Paraguay

Climate of Paraguay

Where is the country of Paraguay located? The completely landlocked South American Republic of Paraguay is located fairly centrally on the continent and has four climatic zones. The northern half has a tropical monsoon climate (type Aw according to the Köppen climate classification), the southern half has a warm maritime climate (type Cfa), the Gran Chaco Lowland has a warm steppe climate and near the border with Brazil there are a number of small areas that have a tropical rainforest climate. to have. Paraguay mainly consists of lowlands (Gran Chaco), which is enclosed by the Andes Mountains to the west and the Brazilian Highlands to the east.

Two seasons

Paraguay has two seasons, mainly based on rainfall. Summer lasts from October to March, winter from May to August. The months of April and September are not really spring or autumn, but are transitional months in which temperatures are a few degrees below the average summer temperatures. Winters are mild and relatively dry, with average daytime temperatures between 20 and 25 degrees. The amounts of precipitation in this period are considerably lower than in summer, so that the summer period in the tropical regions is referred to as the monsoon period.

Precipitation

The average amount of precipitation varies from only 250 millimeters on an annual basis to just under two thousand millimeters, with a peak of three thousand millimeters of rain possible in individual years on the Paraná Plateau within one year. What you see throughout Paraguay is that one year is not the same as the next. The differences between two years can be enormous, both nationally and regionally.

Temperatures

The summer months (October-March) are the warmest, with average 24-hour temperatures between 24 and 29 degrees. With a supply of dry, hot air, it can easily happen for a week in the summer that there is not a cloud in the sky, the temperature rises every day and the relative humidity increases every day. Such a period often ends with a heavy thunderstorm, which is the result of the increasing humidity. However, a phenomenon that is typical for Paraguay is the sudden supply of relatively cool air from the south, which can cause the temperature to drop by 10 to 15 degrees within a few minutes (!) during the day.

Climate figures

The figures below are based on long-term average climate statistics. The temperatures are displayed in degrees Celsius (°C).

Maximum temperature Minimum temperature Hours of sunshine per day Days of rainfall per month
January 33℃ 23℃ 9 9
February 33℃ 22℃ 9 7
March 32℃ 21℃ 8 7
April 28℃ 19℃ 8 8
May 25℃ 16℃ 7 6
June 23℃ 14℃ 6 6
July 23℃ 14℃ 6 5
August 24℃ 14℃ 7 5
September 26℃ 16℃ 7 7
October 29℃ 18℃ 8 8
November 31℃ 20℃ 9 9
December 32℃ 22℃ 9 8

Best time to visit Paraguay

Do you want to know when is the best time to travel to Paraguay? You can determine the best time to travel to a destination based on the weather and climate. In addition, there are other factors that are not directly related to the weather and that can influence the best travel periods for a travel destination. Think, for example, of holidays or festive periods, which makes traveling more interesting or not, because daily life comes to a standstill as a result. The Republic of Paraguay is a country located centrally within South America. Together with Bolivia, it is one of the two South American countries that does not border on a sea or ocean. Because Paraguay is fairly flat (the highest point is 842 meters above sea level) there are no mountain belts that seriously affect the weather. In fact, the lack of high mountains allows winds to develop well and reach high speeds. Think of sometimes 150 to 160 kilometers per hour, which is equal to hurricane force. For Paraguay, the amounts of rain and the associated rainy seasons determine the climate in a certain zone. You can roughly divide Paraguay into three areas: the fairly dry northwest where there is a warm steppe climate,

Best months

The best time to travel for a holiday in Paraguay is from April to October. A large part of this period consists of winter, because the seasons are reversed due to the location in the southern hemisphere. The winter season is the drier season in Paraguay. This period is less warm in summer and also less sunny. On the other hand, you avoid the summer heat and you have a smaller chance of the sometimes heavy thunderstorms that can occur in the summer season. When the dry season falls exactly and how long it lasts, depends on the location within Paraguay. In the northwest, it becomes drier in the course of April and the dry season lasts until the end of October. In the central part of Paraguay, the drier period does not start until the end of May and the rainfall starts to increase again at the end of September. In the southeast there is hardly a drier season. The months of July and August are drier here.

Temperatures

During the local summer, which coincides with our winter, it is hot in Paraguay. The afternoon temperatures in January and February average to about 35 degrees. The high relative airiness ensures that the perceived temperature is higher. Night temperatures in summer are well above twenty degrees Celsius. In the southeast it is several degrees cooler than in the rest of the country. Temperatures start to drop from March. That happens quite gradually. In the winter months (June to August) maximum temperatures of 21 to 27 degrees are normal.

Paraguay