Paraguay

Paraguay is highly vulnerable to impacts of climate change, particularly because of its dependence on climatic conditions for income generation through agriculture and energy as well as transportation. Extreme events have been closely linked to changes in production capacity and growth. Historically, Paraguay has been impacted by changes in the El Niño Southern Oscillation weather pattern, which has caused drought and flooding episodes with significant impacts on agriculture and water resources. Heat waves, storms, wildfires, and freezes are some of the current environmental hazards in the country. Prevalence of social vulnerability and exposure to natural hazards can increase the risk and potential damage of natural disasters. Communities that can be most affected may currently be dependent on rain-fed agriculture, living along rivers and flood plains, in regions projected to experience water scarcity, or urban areas exposed to heat stress. Climate change is projected to increase intensity of natural hazards such as flooding, drought, heat waves, forest fires, and infectious diseases, to name a few. Prevalence of freezing is likely to decrease as temperatures increase.  Paraguay published a national plan for disaster risk reduction as part of the SENDAI protocol and in alignment to the countries 2030 agenda (Disaster Risk Reduction Implementation of Sendai Protocol, 2018-2022, Spanish).

This section provides a summary of key natural hazards and their associated socioeconomic impacts in a given country. It allows for a quick evaluation of most vulnerable areas through the spatial comparison of natural hazard data with development data, thereby identifying exposed livelihoods and natural systems.