Asunción, the capital of Paraguay, sits on the Paraguay River in the south of the country, on low ground near the Argentine border at approximately -25.28°S, 57.64°W. It has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) — with very hot, muggy, rainy summers and very mild winters — and rain in every month, though winter is markedly drier.

Summer, from November to March — the austral summer — is very hot and muggy, with highs around 33–35°C and heatwaves that can exceed 40°C, made oppressive by high humidity off the river. The rains are abundant, exceeding 100 mm a month from October to May, and often arrive as intense thunderstorms with hail and violent gusts of wind.

Winter, from June to August — the austral winter — is very mild, with highs around 23–24°C and cool nights near 12–14°C, though cold southerly surges from Patagonia can briefly drop temperatures close to freezing. Snow has never been recorded. It is the driest season, with rain falling on only four or five days a month in July and August.

Asunción receives on the order of 1,300–1,400 mm of rain a year, with monthly totals exceeding 100 mm from October to May, while July and August are markedly dry; the summer rain often comes as intense thunderstorms accompanied by hail and squalls. Live rainfall, humidity, and pressure readings for the city are shown in the panels above.

Asunción's low-lying riverside setting makes flooding a chronic problem: the Paraguay River rises with rains far upstream in the Pantanal, and when it does, thousands living on the floodplain below the city must be evacuated — a cycle that repeats every few years.

To follow any single measurement in Asuncion more closely, use our live instruments: the online barometer for atmospheric pressure, the thermometer for temperature, the hygrometer for humidity, the anemometer for wind speed, the wind vane for wind direction, and the rain gauge for rainfall.