Climate and Average Weather Year Round in P’yŏngsŏng North Korea

In P’yŏngsŏng, 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 12°F to 83°F and is rarely below 1°F or above 89°F.

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

The warm season lasts for 4.2 months, from May 16 to September 24, with an average daily high temperature above 72°F. The hottest month of the year in P’yŏngsŏng is August, with an average high of 82°F and low of 69°F.

The cold season lasts for 2.9 months, from November 28 to February 25, with an average daily high temperature below 39°F. The coldest month of the year in P’yŏngsŏng is January, with an average low of 12°F and high of 28°F.

In P’yŏngsŏng, 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 P’yŏngsŏng begins around September 4 and lasts for 6.3 months, ending around March 13.

The clearest month of the year in P’yŏngsŏng is January, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 71% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around March 13 and lasts for 5.7 months, ending around September 4.

The cloudiest month of the year in P’yŏngsŏng 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 P’yŏngsŏng varies very significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 2.7 months, from June 15 to September 6, with a greater than 28% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in P’yŏngsŏng is July, with an average of 15.3 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 9.3 months, from September 6 to June 15. The month with the fewest wet days in P’yŏngsŏng 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 P’yŏngsŏng changes throughout the year.

Rain alone is the most common for 11 months, from January 30 to December 18. The month with the most days of rain alone in P’yŏngsŏng is July, with an average of 15.3 days.

Snow alone is the most common for 1.4 months, from December 18 to January 30. The month with the most days of snow alone in P’yŏngsŏng is January, with an average of 0.9 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. P’yŏngsŏng experiences extreme seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 9.6 months, from February 19 to December 7, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain in P’yŏngsŏng is July, with an average rainfall of 10.0 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 2.4 months, from December 7 to February 19. The month with the least rain in P’yŏngsŏng 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. P’yŏngsŏng experiences some seasonal variation in monthly snowfall.

The snowy period of the year lasts for 1.5 months, from December 5 to January 22, with a sliding 31-day snowfall of at least 1.0 inches. The month with the most snow in P’yŏngsŏng is December, with an average snowfall of 1.3 inches.

The snowless period of the year lasts for 10 months, from January 22 to December 5. The least snow falls around July 12, with an average total accumulation of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day in P’yŏngsŏng varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 9 hours, 24 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 21, with 14 hours, 56 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:09 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 5:13 PM on December 7, and the latest sunset is 2 hours, 54 minutes later at 8:07 PM on June 27.

Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed in P’yŏngsŏng 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.

P’yŏngsŏng experiences extreme seasonal variation in the perceived humidity.

The muggier period of the year lasts for 2.9 months, from June 16 to September 11, 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 P’yŏngsŏng is July, with 24.3 days that are muggy or worse.

The least muggy day of the year is February 22, 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 P’yŏngsŏng experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 7.0 months, from October 23 to May 25, with average wind speeds of more than 7.7 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in P’yŏngsŏng is April, with an average hourly wind speed of 8.9 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 5.0 months, from May 25 to October 23. The calmest month of the year in P’yŏngsŏng is September, with an average hourly wind speed of 6.5 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in P’yŏngsŏng varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the west for 3.8 months, from March 4 to June 29, with a peak percentage of 37% on May 26. The wind is most often from the east for 1.7 weeks, from June 29 to July 11 and for 2.2 months, from July 31 to October 7, with a peak percentage of 42% on August 30. The wind is most often from the north for 4.9 months, from October 7 to March 4, with a peak percentage of 45% on January 1.

P’yŏngsŏng 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 8, with an average temperature above 67°F. The month of the year in P’yŏngsŏng 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 29 to April 5, with an average temperature below 41°F. The month of the year in P’yŏngsŏng with the coolest water is February, with an average temperature of 33°F.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in P’yŏngsŏng 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 P’yŏngsŏng for general outdoor tourist activities are from late May to mid July and from early August to mid September, with a peak score in the last week of August.

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 P’yŏngsŏng for hot-weather activities is from mid July to late August, with a peak score in the first 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 P’yŏngsŏng typically lasts for 6.7 months (206 days), from around April 2 to around October 26, rarely starting before March 18 or after April 17, and rarely ending before October 10 or after November 10.

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 P’yŏngsŏng should appear around April 20, only rarely appearing before April 11 or after April 29.

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 3.0 months, from April 20 to July 21, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 5.7 kWh. The brightest month of the year in P’yŏngsŏng 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 P’yŏngsŏng is December, with an average of 2.2 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of P’yŏngsŏng are 39.246 deg latitude, 125.872 deg longitude, and 174 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of P’yŏngsŏng contains significant variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 741 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 324 feet. Within 10 miles contains significant variations in elevation (1,772 feet). Within 50 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (4,915 feet).

The area within 2 miles of P’yŏngsŏng is covered by cropland (41%), trees (22%), sparse vegetation (16%), and grassland (13%), within 10 miles by cropland (39%) and trees (22%), and within 50 miles by cropland (27%) and trees (22%).