Pyongyang climate — normals and trends
Pyongyang (North Korea) has a hot-summer humid continental, dry winter climate (Dwa) under the Köppen-Geiger classification. Its mean annual temperature is 10.6 °C and it receives 1,075 mm of precipitation per year.
These figures are normals computed over 86 complete calendar years, from 1940 to 2025, using ERA5 reanalysis data from the Copernicus programme.
The warmest month is August (24.8 °C on average) and the coldest is January (-6.0 °C). Rainfall peaks in July.
Pyongyang averages 123 frost days, 23 hot days (≥ 30 °C) and 99 rainy days per year.
Pyongyang has warmed by +2.3 °C between 1940 and 2025, or +0.27 °C per decade. This trend is statistically significant.
The number of frost days there went from about 132 to 114 per year over the period.
The hottest day of the period reached 36.7 °C (on 2 August 2018) and the coldest -29.0 °C (on 7 January 1950).
Data from ERA5 reanalysis (Copernicus Climate Change Service), redistributed under a CC-BY 4.0 licence. Normals are recomputed whenever the archive is updated.
Climate normals · ERA5
PyongyangPyongyang
- coords
- 39.03°, 125.75°
- period
- 1940–2025 · 86 yrs
Mean daily temperature
10.6°C
Average daily high
15.5°C
Average daily low
6.2°C
Annual rainfall
1,075mm
Sunshine / day
8.7h
Mean relative humidity
70%
Average peak wind
15.7km/h
Seasonal range
30.8°C
Frost days (< 0 °C)
123 d/yr
Hot days (≥ 30 °C)
23 d/yr
Rainy days (≥ 1 mm)
99 d/yr
Annual snowfall
29.5 cm
Average feels-like high
14.3 °C
Average feels-like low
4.3 °C
Average peak gust
32.9 km/h
Tropical nights (≥ 20 °C)
52 d/yr
Solar radiation
14.7 MJ/m²
Has the climate changed?
One stripe per year, 1940 to 2025
+2.3 °C
since 1940
+0.3 °C per decade · r² = 0.61 · p = < 0.001
Trend fitted by linear regression (ordinary least squares) on annual means. A trend is shown only when it is statistically significant (p < 0.05).
A climograph overlays rainfall (bars) and temperature (line): the standard reading in climatology, where you can see at a glance whether the warm season is also the dry one.
Records for the period
Hottest day
36.7 °C
2 August 2018
Coldest day
-29.0 °C
7 January 1950
Wettest day
228 mm
7 September 1962
Windiest day
51.2 km/h
27 August 2020
Strongest gust
114.1 km/h
27 August 2020
Hottest feels-like
46.4 °C
1 August 2018
Coldest feels-like
-34.3 °C
7 January 1950
Snowiest day
17.4 cm
23 January 1948
Sunniest day
14.3 h
22 June 1941
Normals computed over complete calendar years 1940–2025.
A specific year
Pick a year and see how it compares to normal — warmer, drier or more extreme than usual?
Across the whole year
Month by month
| High | vs. normal | Precipitation | vs. normal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 1.7 °C | +3.1 °C | 13 mm | -3 mm |
| Feb | 1.6 °C | -0.3 °C | 6 mm | -13 mm |
| Mar | 11.9 °C | +3.1 °C | 21 mm | -12 mm |
| Apr | 17.5 °C | +0.8 °C | 88 mm | +24 mm |
| May | 22.1 °C | -0.5 °C | 111 mm | +26 mm |
| Jun | 27.6 °C | +1.2 °C | 200 mm | +88 mm |
| Jul | 30.9 °C | +2.6 °C | 130 mm | -154 mm |
| Aug | 30.5 °C | +1.8 °C | 286 mm | +56 mm |
| Sep | 26.9 °C | +2.2 °C | 207 mm | +96 mm |
| Oct | 18.9 °C | +0.6 °C | 134 mm | +85 mm |
| Nov | 12.1 °C | +2.4 °C | 19 mm | -28 mm |
| Dec | 2.4 °C | +1.0 °C | 25 mm | +1 mm |
The year's extremes
What was the weather like that day?
Your birthday, a wedding, a memorable trip: discover the actual weather for any date since 1940.
Frequently asked questions
What is the climate of Pyongyang?
Pyongyang has a hot-summer humid continental, dry winter climate (Köppen Dwa). Over 1940-2025, the average annual temperature is 10.6 °C and it receives 1,075 mm of precipitation per year.
What is the hottest day ever recorded in Pyongyang?
The hottest day measured in Pyongyang between 1940 and 2025 was 2 August 2018, reaching 36.7 °C.
What is the coldest day in Pyongyang?
The coldest day measured in Pyongyang between 1940 and 2025 was 7 January 1950, at -29.0 °C.
Does it snow in Pyongyang?
Yes. Pyongyang gets on average 29.5 cm of snow per year and has around 123 frost days.
Has the climate of Pyongyang warmed?
Yes: Pyongyang warmed by +2.3 °C between 1940 and 2025, a statistically significant trend.
What is the wettest day in Pyongyang?
The wettest day measured in Pyongyang between 1940 and 2025 was 7 September 1962, with 228 mm of rain in 24 hours.
What was the windiest day in Pyongyang?
The windiest day measured in Pyongyang between 1940 and 2025 was 27 August 2020, with winds reaching 51.2 km/h.
What is the warmest month in Pyongyang?
The warmest month in Pyongyang is August (24.8 °C on average); the coldest is January (-6.0 °C).
How much does it rain in Pyongyang?
Pyongyang receives on average 1,075 mm of precipitation per year, spread over about 99 rainy days.
Is it sunny in Pyongyang?
Pyongyang gets on average 8.7 hours of sunshine per day, roughly 3,175 hours per year over 1940-2025.
What is the biggest single-day snowfall in Pyongyang?
The heaviest 24-hour snowfall measured in Pyongyang between 1940 and 2025 was 23 January 1948, with 17.4 cm.
Are there tropical nights in Pyongyang?
Yes: Pyongyang has on average 52 tropical nights per year (temperature staying above 20 °C), over 1940-2025.
What was the most extreme apparent temperature in Pyongyang?
In Pyongyang, between 1940 and 2025, the highest apparent temperature reached 46.4 °C on 1 August 2018, and the lowest was -34.3 °C on 7 January 1950.
Compare Pyongyang with another city
Pick a second city: its normals will be set against these, indicator by indicator.
Nearby cities
The climate around Pyongyang