Climate and average weather in Kapsan-ŭp

In Kapsan-ŭp, the summers are warm, wet, and mostly cloudy and the winters are frigid, snowy, and mostly clear.

Best: mid May to early October

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Kapsan-ŭp typically varies from -21°C to 23°C, and is rarely below -28°C or above 28°C. July is the hottest month of the year, while January is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best time of year to visit Kapsan-ŭp for warm-weather activities is from mid May to early October.

Hottest
Jul
23°
Coldest
Jan
-21°
Wettest
Jul
169 mm
Driest
Jan
11 mm
Rain / yr
814 mm
112 wet days
Daylight
9.0–15.0 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
813 m
41.1°N
Clearest
Jan
40% cloud

Kapsan-ŭp is human settlement in North Korea.

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

Kapsan-ŭp weather by month, at a glance

The whole year in one picture — sky, rain, humidity, temperature and travel score. Click any band to jump to its full chart.

Each stripe is one measure across the whole year, stacked so a single day reads top to bottom. The sky band runs overcast grey on top down to clear blue at the base — more blue means sunnier — followed by the rainfall curve, the humidity band, a temperature strip that tints each stretch of the year by how warm its average high is, and the travel-score line at the foot. Scan straight down any date to read that day across every measure at once; the score climbs highest around mid May to early October.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Daily average highs and lows in Kapsan-ŭp, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.

The hot season lasts 4.6 months, from May 13 to September 28, with daily high temperatures above 16°C. The hottest month of the year in Kapsan-ŭp is July, with an average high of 23°C and low of 14°C.

The cool season lasts 3.1 months, from November 26 to February 28, with daily high temperatures below -2°C. The coldest month of the year in Kapsan-ŭp is January, with an average low of -21°C and high of -8°C.

Days typically run about 12°C warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 14°C) in February.

-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan-8-21
Feb-4-18
Mar2-11
Apr10-2
May164
Jun2010
Jul2314
Aug2314
Sep187
Oct11-1
Nov2-9
Dec-6-18

How hot and cold Kapsan-ŭp really feels

Feels-like highFeels-like lowactual air temp

The felt-temperature range through the year — heat index on the day's high (summer humidity), wind chill on the night's low (winter wind). The dashed lines are the plain thermometer; the gap is how much hotter or colder it really feels.

On the coldest nights, wind chill pulls the feels-like down to about -27°C (around January 27), with roughly 212 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 0°C) 143 of them bitterly cold — worst in January.

-30°-20°-10°10°20°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels-like high (°C)Air high (°C)Feels-like low (°C)Air low (°C)
Jan-8-8-27-21
Feb-5-4-24-18
Mar22-16-11
Apr1010-5-2
May161624
Jun2020910
Jul23231414
Aug23231414
Sep181867
Oct1111-3-1
Nov22-13-9
Dec-6-6-24-18

Average hourly temperature in Kapsan-ŭp

A compact picture of the whole year, hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled average temperature. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

Read left to right for the day of the year and top to bottom for the hour of the day; the color is the modeled temperature, cool blues through to hot reds on the same scale as the other charts. A vertical slice is a single day's swing — coolest just before dawn, warmest in the mid-afternoon — while a horizontal slice follows one hour across the seasons. The darker overlay marks night and the lighter one the twilight around sunrise and sunset. Colors run warmest on July afternoons, near 23°C, and coldest before dawn in January, near -21°C.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM

Kapsan-ŭp weather by month

Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan-8° / -21°113.13.79.40.0
Feb-5° / -18°164510.40.0
Mar / -11°306.8711.70.0
Apr10° / -2°539.95.913.12.2
May16° / 8513.61.114.34.8
Jun20° / 10°10515.5014.95.3
Jul23° / 14°16917.6014.75.5
Aug23° / 14°16315.4013.65.8
Sep18° / 898.6012.36.0
Oct11° / -1°416.71.810.93.3
Nov / -9°3665.99.70.1
Dec-6° / -18°174.359.10.0

Chance of rain

How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.

Kapsan-ŭp gets about 814 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is often wet, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 5.1 months, from around Apr 12 to Sep 13, peaking in July at about 60% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Jan 26.

July is the wettest month by volume, with 169 mm over about 18 wet days; January is the driest, with 11 mm. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetJul 26 · 60%Jan 26 · 9%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan103
Feb144
Mar227
Apr3310
May4314
Jun5216
Jul5718
Aug5015
Sep309
Oct207
Nov206
Dec144

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Kapsan-ŭp collects about 814 mm of rain across 112 wet days — roughly 68 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. July is the wettest month with 169 mm, while January is the driest at just 11 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 54% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0255075100125150175200JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec111630538510516916389413617
Rainfall (mm)Rain daysSnow days
Jan1134
Feb1645
Mar3077
Apr53106
May85141
Jun105160
Jul169180
Aug163150
Sep8990
Oct4172
Nov3666
Dec1745

Snow in Kapsan-ŭp

Average snowy days through the year, the snow-season span, and estimated snowfall — for ski trips and the perennial 'will there be snow at Christmas?' question.

Kapsan-ŭp averages about 35 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Oct 6 to May 26 — about 7.7 months.

March is snowiest, with roughly 7 days of snow and an estimated 27 cm of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 159 cm of snow.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsnow seasonsnow seasonMar 3
Snow daysSnowfall (cm)
Jan415
Feb520
Mar727
Apr633
May15
Jun00
Jul00
Aug00
Sep00
Oct26
Nov633
Dec520

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.

In Kapsan-ŭp, the average share of the sky covered by clouds shows significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year begins around September 17 and lasts for 6.4 months, ending around March 30. The clearest month is January, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 70% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around March 31 and lasts for 5.6 months, ending around September 16. The cloudiest month is July, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 71% of the time.

0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecDec 28 · 72%Jul 20 · 27%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastclearercloudierclearer
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan7030
Feb6436
Mar5545
Apr4951
May4654
Jun3565
Jul2971
Aug3565
Sep5347
Oct6535
Nov6634
Dec7030

Daylight, sunrise and sunset

DaylightNight

Hours of daylight through the year, with sunrise and sunset times.

The gold band is daylight — sunrise runs along its lower edge, sunset along the upper — so it widens toward summer and pinches toward winter, with night the dark area above and below. The longest day, around June 18, brings about 15 hours of light; the shortest, around December 18, only 9 hours — a swing of roughly 6 hours.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan9.47:565:17
Feb10.47:305:52
Mar11.76:476:26
Apr13.15:547:00
May14.35:147:32
Jun14.94:597:55
Jul14.75:127:53
Aug13.65:417:21
Sep12.36:136:29
Oct10.96:455:38
Nov9.77:225:02
Dec9.17:514:55

Sunny days

How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.

Kapsan-ŭp averages about 11 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 3 and 17 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 6.0 months, from around Sep 18 to Mar 19. The sunniest month is December, with roughly 17 sunny days (bright).

The greyest month is July, down near 4 sunny days — about 78% fewer than the December peak.

05101520JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsunniergreyersunniergloomymixedbrightDec 2117 daysJul 233 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan17Bright
Feb14Mixed
Mar11Mixed
Apr9Mixed
May8Gloomy
Jun5Gloomy
Jul4Gloomy
Aug5Gloomy
Sep10Mixed
Oct15Bright
Nov16Bright
Dec17Bright

Humidity comfort

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Share of days at each humidity comfort level, based on the dew point — the measure that tracks how muggy it actually feels.

Humidity comfort is graded by the dew point — the temperature at which the air would be fully saturated — because it tracks how muggy it actually feels far better than relative humidity does. A low dew point feels dry and crisp; a high one feels sticky and oppressive no matter the reading on a humidity gauge.

In Kapsan-ŭp, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 2.2 months, from around June 28 to September 3. The muggiest month is August, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 41% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around September 4 to June 27, and May is the most comfortable month — the air is dry or comfortable 100% of the time.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecMay 12 · 100%Aug 2 · 33%muggyhumidcomfortabledrycomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)
Jan100000
Feb100000
Mar100000
Apr100000
May100000
Jun791920
Jul1842337
Aug2633338
Sep88920
Oct100000
Nov100000
Dec100000

Wind

Average wind speed through the year, banded into plain-language speed zones so a number reads as 'breezy' or 'calm' without knowing the scale.

This is the average sustained wind speed at the standard 10 metres above open ground — the steady flow a weather station reports, not the sharper gusts that come and go, which can run half again as fast. It's the number that says whether a place is generally breezy or calm.

Across the year, average wind speed in Kapsan-ŭp is typically calm, near 7 km/h, and varies little with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 7.1 months, from around Oct 21 to May 24. The windiest month is March, averaging about 9 km/h (calm).

The calmer part of the year runs from around May 25 to Oct 20, with August the calmest month at about 5 km/h.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwindiercalmerwindiercalmlight breezeMar 19 · 9 km/hAug 2 · 5 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan7calm
Feb8calm
Mar9calm
Apr8calm
May7calm
Jun5calm
Jul5calm
Aug5calm
Sep5calm
Oct7calm
Nov7calm
Dec7calm

Hazard calendar for Kapsan-ŭp

In seasonPeak

When the seasonal hazards worth planning around — the rainy season, tropical-cyclone risk and dust haze — are active through the year.

Kapsan-ŭp's rainy season runs May–September, when most of the year's rain falls.

Rainy season
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Best time to visit Kapsan-ŭp

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Kapsan-ŭp throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.

Around late May, Kapsan-ŭp is still near the start of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds not yet at full swing.

Inferred from the travel-score curve; month-by-month visitor numbers are a planned addition.

The travel score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 18°C and 28°C. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Kapsan-ŭp for general outdoor tourist activities is from mid May to early October, with a peak score in the second week of September.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationSep 12 · 6.1

The travel score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

Travel score (0–10)Rating
Jan0.0poor
Feb0.0poor
Mar0.1poor
Apr2.2poor
May4.7fair
Jun5.3fair
Jul5.5fair
Aug5.8good
Sep5.9good
Oct3.3poor
Nov0.2poor
Dec0.0poor

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 24°C and 34°C. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Kapsan-ŭp for hot-weather activities is from early July to late August, with a peak score in the first week of August.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationAug 6 · 4.6

The beach/pool score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

What to pack for Kapsan-ŭp, by month

EssentialRecommendedOptional

Month by month, what's worth putting in the bag — from the temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind. Tap a month for a quick packing note.

For a warm-season trip around July (highs near 23°C), the essentials are light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near -8°C), pack a warm layer and a heavy coat.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In July, Kapsan-ŭp sees daytime highs around 23°C and nights near 14°C. Pack rain gear. Worth having: light clothes and sun protection. About 18 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in Kapsan-ŭp by month

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV index through the year, shaded by the WHO exposure levels — how much sun protection each month calls for.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Kapsan-ŭp peaks around August 18 at about 8 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 20 at about 1 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 8 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighVery highVery highModerateLowAug 18UV 8Dec 20UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan2Low
Feb3Moderate
Mar4Moderate
Apr6High
May8Very high
Jun8Very high
Jul7High
Aug9Very high
Sep7Very high
Oct4Moderate
Nov2Moderate
Dec1Low

Average hourly UV index in Kapsan-ŭp

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Modeled clear-sky UV for every hour of every day — when in the day sun protection actually matters.

The whole year hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled clear-sky UV index — the midday peak scaled down as the sun sits lower in the sky. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

UV falls off far faster than brightness as the sun drops, so even in August the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 8 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 5 hours reach 6 or more. Mornings and late afternoons stay comparatively gentle year round.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM
UV ≥ 3 (h/day)UV ≥ 6 (h/day)
Jan00
Feb00
Mar40
Apr6.50
May7.54
Jun84
Jul7.53
Aug85
Sep6.53
Oct40
Nov00
Dec00

Air quality in Kapsan-ŭp by month

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see which months the air is worst, not just the yearly average.

Air quality in Kapsan-ŭp is worst in March — around 36 µg/m³ PM2.5 (poor), about 2.4× the cleanest month (August, 15 µg/m³).

Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).

010203040JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateModerateMar 2136 µg/m³Aug 1615 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan28Moderate
Feb29Moderate
Mar36Poor
Apr34Moderate
May29Moderate
Jun22Moderate
Jul18Moderate
Aug15Moderate
Sep18Moderate
Oct26Moderate
Nov23Moderate
Dec25Moderate
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayTypical season (≥50%)

The growing season in Kapsan-ŭp typically lasts about 173 days, from around April 24 to October 13 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from May 12 to September 25.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgrowing seasonMar 3010%Apr 2450%May 1290%Sep 2590%Oct 1350%Nov 610%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan031
Feb028
Mar431
Apr3430
May9111
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep965
Oct4431
Nov630
Dec031

Growing degree days

Degree days (base 10°C)Frost-free shaded

Growing degree days tally heat above 10°C: each day adds however many degrees its average temperature runs over that threshold, and cold days add nothing. Kapsan-ŭp banks about 760 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around July.

0200400600800JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr0
May23
Jun147
Jul261
Aug251
Sep78
Oct0
Nov0
Dec0

Solar energy

Average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground, banded into brightness zones so the number means something at a glance.

Solar energy is how much sunlight actually reaches the ground each day, measured in kilowatt-hours per square metre (kWh/m²) — the combined effect of how long the sun is up, how high it climbs, and how much cloud gets in the way. It's the raw fuel a solar panel has to work with: for scale, 1 kWh/m² a day is dim and wintry, while 7+ is desert-bright.

Kapsan-ŭp receives about 4.2 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 2.2 and 5.8 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 7.0 months, from around Mar 1 to Sep 28. The brightest month is May, averaging about 5.7 kWh/m² (bright).

The dimmest month is December, down near 2.3 kWh/m² — roughly 60% less than the May peak.

01234567JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseMay 305.8 kWhDec 122.2 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan2.7Moderate
Feb3.6Moderate
Mar4.8Bright
Apr5.5Bright
May5.7Bright
Jun5.5Bright
Jul4.8Bright
Aug4.5Bright
Sep4.3Bright
Oct3.6Moderate
Nov2.5Moderate
Dec2.2Moderate

Where is Kapsan-ŭp?

Kapsan-ŭp sits at 41.1°N, 128.3°E, 813 m above sea level, in North Korea. The nearest listed city is Hyesan-dong, 35 km away.

Hyesan-dongHyesanChangam-ch’onSamjiyŏn-ŭpKiljuIwŏn-ŭpMyŏngch’ŏnMyŏnggan-dong

Topography around Kapsan-ŭp

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Kapsan-ŭp.

Within 3 km, the terrain around Kapsan-ŭp has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 489 m around an average of 958 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,149 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,504 m.

The land around Kapsan-ŭp is covered by grassland (38%), trees (30%) and cropland (29%) within 3 km, trees (72%) within 16 km, and trees (85%) within 80 km.

3 km
489 m
16 km
1,149 m
80 km
2,504 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Nearby: Hyesan-dong 35 km · Hyesan 36 km · Changam-ch’on 68 km · Samjiyŏn-ŭp 79 km · Kilju 88 km · Iwŏn-ŭp 91 km · Myŏngch’ŏn 95 km · Myŏnggan-dong 101 km

North Korea travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 4
Do Not Travel
Power plugs
Type C / F
220 V · 50 Hz
Safe drinking water
67%
of population, 2023
Road deaths
24.2
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
Low
World Bank

Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Kapsan-ŭp (41.0903°, 128.2933°, elevation 813 m), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Monthly air-quality (PM2.5) seasonality is from the CAMS EAC4 reanalysis (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service), scaled to the WHO annual mean where available. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).