Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Sunan North Korea

In Sunan, the summers are long, warm, humid, wet, and partly cloudy and the winters are short, freezing, snowy, and mostly clear. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 13°F to 84°F and is rarely below 3°F or above 90°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best times of year to visit Sunan for warm-weather activities are from late May to mid July and from mid August to late September.

The warm season lasts for 4.2 months, from May 18 to September 25, with an average daily high temperature above 73°F. The hottest month of the year in Sunan is August, with an average high of 83°F and low of 70°F.

The cold season lasts for 2.9 months, from November 29 to February 26, with an average daily high temperature below 39°F. The coldest month of the year in Sunan is January, with an average low of 14°F and high of 29°F.

In Sunan, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year in Sunan begins around September 2 and lasts for 6.2 months, ending around March 8.

The clearest month of the year in Sunan is January, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 70% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around March 8 and lasts for 5.8 months, ending around September 2.

The cloudiest month of the year in Sunan is July, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 49% of the time.

A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. The chance of wet days in Sunan varies very significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 2.7 months, from June 15 to September 5, with a greater than 28% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Sunan is July, with an average of 15.1 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 9.3 months, from September 5 to June 15. The month with the fewest wet days in Sunan is January, with an average of 1.5 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

Among wet days, we distinguish between those that experience rain alone, snow alone, or a mixture of the two. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation in Sunan changes throughout the year.

Rain alone is the most common for 11 months, from January 27 to December 21. The month with the most days of rain alone in Sunan is July, with an average of 15.1 days.

Snow alone is the most common for 1.2 months, from December 21 to January 27. The month with the most days of snow alone in Sunan is December, with an average of 0.8 days.

Rainfall

To show variation within the months and not just the monthly totals, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Sunan experiences extreme seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 9.7 months, from February 17 to December 7, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain in Sunan is July, with an average rainfall of 9.9 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 2.4 months, from December 7 to February 17. The month with the least rain in Sunan is January, with an average rainfall of 0.1 inches.

Snowfall

As with rainfall, we consider the snowfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Sunan experiences some seasonal variation in monthly snowfall.

The snowy period of the year lasts for 1.1 months, from December 13 to January 16, with a sliding 31-day snowfall of at least 1.0 inches. The month with the most snow in Sunan is December, with an average snowfall of 1.1 inches.

The snowless period of the year lasts for 11 months, from January 16 to December 13. The least snow falls around July 9, with an average total accumulation of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day in Sunan varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 9 hours, 25 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 21, with 14 hours, 56 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:10 AM on June 14, and the latest sunrise is 2 hours, 47 minutes later at 7:56 AM on January 6. The earliest sunset is at 5:14 PM on December 8, and the latest sunset is 2 hours, 54 minutes later at 8:07 PM on June 28.

Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed in Sunan during 2024.

The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for 2024. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the colored areas indicate when the moon is above the horizon. The vertical gray bars (new Moons) and blue bars (full Moons) indicate key Moon phases.

We base the humidity comfort level on the dew point, as it determines whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid. Unlike temperature, which typically varies significantly between night and day, dew point tends to change more slowly, so while the temperature may drop at night, a muggy day is typically followed by a muggy night.

Sunan experiences extreme seasonal variation in the perceived humidity.

The muggier period of the year lasts for 3.0 months, from June 15 to September 13, during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 23% of the time. The month with the most muggy days in Sunan is July, with 25.3 days that are muggy or worse.

The least muggy day of the year is February 18, when muggy conditions are essentially unheard of.

This section discusses the wide-area hourly average wind vector (speed and direction) at 10 meters above the ground. The wind experienced at any given location is highly dependent on local topography and other factors, and instantaneous wind speed and direction vary more widely than hourly averages.

The average hourly wind speed in Sunan experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 7.1 months, from October 20 to May 24, with average wind speeds of more than 8.0 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Sunan is April, with an average hourly wind speed of 9.2 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 4.9 months, from May 24 to October 20. The calmest month of the year in Sunan is September, with an average hourly wind speed of 6.7 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in Sunan varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the west for 3.7 months, from March 14 to July 4, with a peak percentage of 37% on May 28. The wind is most often from the east for 1.7 months, from August 4 to September 26, with a peak percentage of 39% on August 30. The wind is most often from the north for 5.6 months, from September 26 to March 14, with a peak percentage of 52% on January 1.

Sunan is located near a large body of water (e.g., ocean, sea, or large lake). This section reports on the wide-area average surface temperature of that water.

The average water temperature experiences extreme seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The time of year with warmer water lasts for 3.5 months, from June 25 to October 10, with an average temperature above 67°F. The month of the year in Sunan with the warmest water is August, with an average temperature of 75°F.

The time of year with cooler water lasts for 3.2 months, from December 30 to April 5, with an average temperature below 41°F. The month of the year in Sunan with the coolest water is February, with an average temperature of 33°F.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Sunan throughout the year, we compute two travel scores.

The tourism score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 65°F and 80°F. Based on this score, the best times of year to visit Sunan for general outdoor tourist activities are from late May to mid July and from mid August to late September, with a peak score in the first week of September.

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 75°F and 90°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Sunan for hot-weather activities is from early July to late August, with a peak score in the second week of August.

Methodology

For each hour between 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM of each day in the analysis period (1980 to 2016), independent scores are computed for perceived temperature, cloud cover, and total precipitation. Those scores are combined into a single hourly composite score, which is then aggregated into days, averaged over all the years in the analysis period, and smoothed.

Our cloud cover score is 10 for fully clear skies, falling linearly to 9 for mostly clear skies, and to 1 for fully overcast skies.

Our precipitation score, which is based on the three-hour precipitation centered on the hour in question, is 10 for no precipitation, falling linearly to 9 for trace precipitation, and to 0 for 0.04 inches of precipitation or more.

Our tourism temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 50°F, rising linearly to 9 for 65°F, to 10 for 75°F, falling linearly to 9 for 80°F, and to 1 for 90°F or hotter.

Our beach/pool temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 65°F, rising linearly to 9 for 75°F, to 10 for 82°F, falling linearly to 9 for 90°F, and to 1 for 100°F or hotter.

Definitions of the growing season vary throughout the world, but for the purposes of this report, we define it as the longest continuous period of non-freezing temperatures (≥ 32°F) in the year (the calendar year in the Northern Hemisphere, or from July 1 until June 30 in the Southern Hemisphere).

The growing season in Sunan typically lasts for 6.9 months (211 days), from around April 1 to around October 29, rarely starting before March 18 or after April 15, and rarely ending before October 13 or after November 14.

Growing degree days are a measure of yearly heat accumulation used to predict plant and animal development, and defined as the integral of warmth above a base temperature, discarding any excess above a maximum temperature. In this report, we use a base of 50°F and a cap of 86°F.

Based on growing degree days alone, the first spring blooms in Sunan should appear around April 19, only rarely appearing before April 10 or after April 27.

This section discusses the total daily incident shortwave solar energy reaching the surface of the ground over a wide area, taking full account of seasonal variations in the length of the day, the elevation of the Sun above the horizon, and absorption by clouds and other atmospheric constituents. Shortwave radiation includes visible light and ultraviolet radiation.

The average daily incident shortwave solar energy experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 3.1 months, from April 19 to July 22, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 5.7 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Sunan is June, with an average of 6.4 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.0 months, from November 2 to February 1, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 3.1 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Sunan is December, with an average of 2.2 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Sunan are 39.198 deg latitude, 125.690 deg longitude, and 112 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Sunan contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 217 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 111 feet. Within 10 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (1,804 feet). Within 50 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (4,131 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Sunan is covered by sparse vegetation (44%), cropland (36%), and bare soil (14%), within 10 miles by cropland (38%) and sparse vegetation (33%), and within 50 miles by cropland (26%) and water (23%).