# Wildfires in Paraguay in 2020

422 fires larger than 1,500 hectares in Paraguay in 2020, with 1,898,172 hectares burned according to their perimeters. Here is the whole year: what the official record says, when and where it burned and what the weather was like.

## The year in a few sentences

- According to Copernicus GWIS, 5,999,180 hectares burned in Paraguay in 2020: 2.0 times the average of the other years from 2012 to 2024 (2,952,690 ha). It is the year with the most burned area of the 13 in the record. (Copernicus GWIS)
- The worst week was 23 September to 29 September: 862,747 hectares burned in seven days, 14% of the year according to Copernicus GWIS. (Copernicus GWIS)
- The largest fire was the General Jose Maria Bruguez fire, which started on 18 September 2020 and burned 149,782 hectares: 8% of the area of the year's 422 fires with a page. (WorldFires)
- The day of highest danger at a fire this year was 1 October 2020: a Fire Weather Index of 132 (very extreme on the EFFIS scale) at the General Jose Maria Bruguez fire, calculated by WorldFires from ERA5. (WorldFires · ERA5)

## Month by month

Hectares within the perimeters by the month the fire started. Tap a month to see it on the map.

| Month | Fires | Hectares |
|---|---:|---:|
| January | 9 | 20,124 |
| February | 13 | 37,626 |
| March | 32 | 112,162 |
| April | 28 | 81,672 |
| May | 16 | 41,860 |
| June | 14 | 37,820 |
| July | 41 | 141,560 |
| August | 72 | 308,622 |
| September | 106 | 828,703 |
| October | 46 | 167,335 |
| November | 36 | 102,274 |
| December | 9 | 18,414 |

## Week by week, against other years (Copernicus GWIS)

The average and the band are the Copernicus GWIS climatology for 2012–2025, which includes 2020 itself.

| Week | 2020 | That week | average | lowest and highest |
|---|---:|---:|---:|---:|
| 1 (1 Jan–7 Jan) | 22,856 | 22,856 | 23,083 | 2,891–72,025 |
| 2 (8 Jan–14 Jan) | 50,315 | 27,459 | 71,391 | 17,730–301,632 |
| 3 (15 Jan–21 Jan) | 86,903 | 36,588 | 143,286 | 46,324–697,586 |
| 4 (22 Jan–28 Jan) | 128,395 | 41,492 | 198,658 | 55,227–851,280 |
| 5 (29 Jan–4 Feb) | 143,653 | 15,258 | 255,559 | 64,866–945,283 |
| 6 (5 Feb–11 Feb) | 166,176 | 22,523 | 313,256 | 67,450–1,043,099 |
| 7 (12 Feb–18 Feb) | 198,242 | 32,066 | 363,330 | 69,055–1,221,959 |
| 8 (19 Feb–25 Feb) | 239,483 | 41,241 | 396,746 | 72,963–1,275,061 |
| 9 (26 Feb–3 Mar) | 382,323 | 142,840 | 439,055 | 72,963–1,323,358 |
| 10 (4 Mar–10 Mar) | 598,710 | 216,387 | 496,730 | 77,794–1,384,842 |
| 11 (11 Mar–17 Mar) | 764,635 | 165,925 | 551,256 | 84,232–1,476,060 |
| 12 (18 Mar–24 Mar) | 845,295 | 80,660 | 581,217 | 92,097–1,511,613 |
| 13 (25 Mar–31 Mar) | 892,677 | 47,382 | 603,109 | 95,487–1,537,833 |
| 14 (1 Apr–7 Apr) | 940,578 | 47,901 | 623,287 | 108,722–1,555,698 |
| 15 (8 Apr–14 Apr) | 1,010,405 | 69,827 | 639,162 | 128,411–1,560,858 |
| 16 (15 Apr–21 Apr) | 1,108,581 | 98,176 | 661,332 | 159,640–1,580,926 |
| 17 (22 Apr–28 Apr) | 1,337,011 | 228,430 | 695,202 | 221,480–1,604,040 |
| 18 (29 Apr–5 May) | 1,396,800 | 59,789 | 716,971 | 285,469–1,618,784 |
| 19 (6 May–12 May) | 1,484,850 | 88,050 | 734,260 | 294,441–1,634,396 |
| 20 (13 May–19 May) | 1,544,899 | 60,049 | 748,100 | 300,239–1,657,727 |
| 21 (20 May–26 May) | 1,593,030 | 48,131 | 762,765 | 324,726–1,679,317 |
| 22 (27 May–2 Jun) | 1,625,326 | 32,296 | 778,639 | 349,406–1,680,578 |
| 23 (3 Jun–9 Jun) | 1,633,593 | 8,267 | 798,424 | 358,900–1,688,277 |
| 24 (10 Jun–16 Jun) | 1,676,654 | 43,061 | 822,928 | 364,341–1,704,793 |
| 25 (17 Jun–23 Jun) | 1,804,963 | 128,309 | 852,300 | 411,218–1,804,963 |
| 26 (24 Jun–30 Jun) | 1,829,408 | 24,445 | 872,687 | 425,943–1,829,408 |
| 27 (1 Jul–7 Jul) | 1,865,272 | 35,864 | 910,305 | 437,957–1,865,272 |
| 28 (8 Jul–14 Jul) | 1,888,526 | 23,254 | 949,513 | 501,522–1,888,526 |
| 29 (15 Jul–21 Jul) | 2,122,357 | 233,831 | 1,016,112 | 610,245–2,122,357 |
| 30 (22 Jul–28 Jul) | 2,189,465 | 67,108 | 1,095,702 | 642,540–2,189,465 |
| 31 (29 Jul–4 Aug) | 2,506,452 | 316,987 | 1,195,204 | 684,088–2,506,452 |
| 32 (5 Aug–11 Aug) | 2,756,377 | 249,925 | 1,306,186 | 725,788–2,756,377 |
| 33 (12 Aug–18 Aug) | 2,786,849 | 30,472 | 1,448,934 | 764,938–2,786,849 |
| 34 (19 Aug–25 Aug) | 3,015,277 | 228,428 | 1,582,118 | 788,437–3,015,277 |
| 35 (26 Aug–1 Sept) | 3,193,337 | 178,060 | 1,714,390 | 816,148–3,193,337 |
| 36 (2 Sept–8 Sept) | 3,297,354 | 104,017 | 1,850,944 | 833,522–3,297,354 |
| 37 (9 Sept–15 Sept) | 3,425,630 | 128,276 | 1,973,134 | 865,251–3,425,630 |
| 38 (16 Sept–22 Sept) | 3,617,157 | 191,527 | 2,102,490 | 909,583–3,617,157 |
| 39 (23 Sept–29 Sept) | 4,479,904 | 862,747 | 2,263,324 | 934,255–4,479,904 |
| 40 (30 Sept–6 Oct) | 4,882,328 | 402,424 | 2,365,109 | 948,087–4,882,328 |
| 41 (7 Oct–13 Oct) | 5,126,023 | 243,695 | 2,454,704 | 999,671–5,126,023 |
| 42 (14 Oct–20 Oct) | 5,157,633 | 31,610 | 2,546,044 | 1,046,977–5,157,633 |
| 43 (21 Oct–27 Oct) | 5,219,621 | 61,988 | 2,621,491 | 1,077,696–5,219,621 |
| 44 (28 Oct–3 Nov) | 5,360,902 | 141,281 | 2,689,492 | 1,089,976–5,360,902 |
| 45 (4 Nov–10 Nov) | 5,518,003 | 157,101 | 2,752,730 | 1,116,188–5,518,003 |
| 46 (11 Nov–17 Nov) | 5,555,044 | 37,041 | 2,818,844 | 1,121,148–5,555,044 |
| 47 (18 Nov–24 Nov) | 5,765,744 | 210,700 | 2,872,755 | 1,165,708–5,765,744 |
| 48 (25 Nov–1 Dec) | 5,819,163 | 53,419 | 2,909,366 | 1,194,458–5,819,163 |
| 49 (2 Dec–8 Dec) | 5,893,184 | 74,021 | 2,954,437 | 1,221,802–5,893,184 |
| 50 (9 Dec–15 Dec) | 5,952,858 | 59,674 | 2,996,273 | 1,231,621–5,952,858 |
| 51 (16 Dec–22 Dec) | 5,971,408 | 18,550 | 3,021,670 | 1,239,284–5,971,408 |
| 52 (23 Dec–29 Dec) | 5,997,364 | 25,956 | 3,045,506 | 1,242,341–5,997,364 |

## Largest recorded fires

- [General Jose Maria Bruguez fire, 18 September 2020](https://worldfires.org/en/fire/general-jose-maria-bruguez-2020-09-3.md) · 149,782 ha
- [José Falcón fire, 22 September 2020](https://worldfires.org/en/fire/jose-falcon-2020-09-5.md) · 57,745 ha
- [Puerto Pinasco fire, 24 September 2020](https://worldfires.org/en/fire/puerto-pinasco-2020-09-17.md) · 45,862 ha
- [General Jose Maria Bruguez fire, 18 September 2020](https://worldfires.org/en/fire/general-jose-maria-bruguez-2020-09-4.md) · 41,433 ha
- [Puerto Pinasco fire, 29 September 2020](https://worldfires.org/en/fire/puerto-pinasco-2020-09-11.md) · 39,142 ha
- [José Falcón fire, 22 September 2020](https://worldfires.org/en/fire/jose-falcon-2020-09-4.md) · 33,737 ha
- [Tte. Esteban Martinez fire, 17 September 2020](https://worldfires.org/en/fire/tte-esteban-martinez-2020-09.md) · 33,618 ha
- [Benjamín Aceval fire, 19 September 2020](https://worldfires.org/en/fire/benjamin-aceval-2020-09-5.md) · 27,111 ha
- [Puerto Pinasco fire, 2 August 2020](https://worldfires.org/en/fire/puerto-pinasco-2020-08.md) · 22,821 ha
- [Alto Vera fire, September 2020](https://worldfires.org/en/fire/alto-vera-2020-09.md) · 22,550 ha
- [Villeta fire, 19 August 2020](https://worldfires.org/en/fire/villeta-2020-08-2.md) · 22,209 ha
- [Villa Oliva fire, July 2020](https://worldfires.org/en/fire/villa-oliva-2020-07.md) · 20,867 ha
- [Villa Hayes fire, 30 September 2020](https://worldfires.org/en/fire/villa-hayes-2020-09-14.md) · 18,588 ha
- [Puerto Pinasco fire, 22 September 2020](https://worldfires.org/en/fire/puerto-pinasco-2020-09-3.md) · 18,465 ha
- [Puerto Casado fire, 2 November 2020](https://worldfires.org/en/fire/puerto-casado-2020-11.md) · 18,216 ha
- [General Jose Maria Bruguez fire, 1 October 2020](https://worldfires.org/en/fire/general-jose-maria-bruguez-2020-10-2.md) · 18,197 ha
- [Benjamín Aceval fire, 1 August 2020](https://worldfires.org/en/fire/benjamin-aceval-2020-08-2.md) · 17,481 ha
- [Villa Hayes fire, 5 October 2020](https://worldfires.org/en/fire/villa-hayes-2020-10-3.md) · 17,084 ha
- [Fuerte Olimpo fire, 2 August 2020](https://worldfires.org/en/fire/fuerte-olimpo-2020-08.md) · 16,883 ha
- [Tte. Esteban Martinez fire, 1 August 2020](https://worldfires.org/en/fire/tte-esteban-martinez-2020-08.md) · 14,894 ha

## Sources and limits

Fire-page areas are satellite-measured perimeters and may differ from official statistics. The yearly and weekly record is the Copernicus GWIS estimate. The FWI is our own calculation from ERA5 at each fire's location: it is not an official danger warning.
Official information for Paraguay is published by: [Secretaría de Emergencia Nacional](https://www.sen.gov.py) · [INFONA · Instituto Forestal Nacional](https://www.infona.gov.py)

## How to cite

WorldFires, “Wildfires in Paraguay in 2020”, https://worldfires.org/en/country/paraguay/2020 (accessed 15 November 2026). Sources: Copernicus GWIS, WorldFires, WorldFires · ERA5, NASA FIRMS (VIIRS).

> Experimental site with automatically processed open data: it may contain errors and is not an official emergency service. If there is a fire, call your local emergency number.

Full version with maps: https://worldfires.org/en/country/paraguay/2020