Climate and average weather in Kosan

In Kosan, the summers are humid, warm, wet, and mostly cloudy and the winters are very cold, snowy, and mostly clear.

Best: late April to early July

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Kosan typically varies from -14°C to 26°C, and is rarely below -23°C or above 31°C. August is the hottest month of the year, while January is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best times of year to visit Kosan for warm-weather activities are from late April to early July and mid August to mid October.

Hottest
Aug
26°
Coldest
Jan
-14°
Wettest
Jul
267 mm
Driest
Jan
25 mm
Rain / yr
1175 mm
108 wet days
Daylight
9.3–14.7 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
195 m
38.9°N
Clearest
Dec
41% cloud

Kosan 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 late April to early July.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

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

The hot season lasts 4.7 months, from May 13 to October 1, with daily high temperatures above 19°C. The hottest month of the year in Kosan is August, with an average high of 26°C and low of 18°C.

The cool season lasts 3.0 months, from November 29 to February 28, with daily high temperatures below 4°C. The coldest month of the year in Kosan is January, with an average low of -14°C and high of -2°C.

Days typically run about 10°C warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 12°C) in February.

-20°-10°10°20°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan-2-14
Feb1-11
Mar7-4
Apr142
May209
Jun2314
Jul2518
Aug2618
Sep2212
Oct165
Nov7-2
Dec0-10

How hot and cold Kosan 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 -20°C (around January 23), with roughly 173 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 0°C) 96 of them bitterly cold — worst in January.

-20°-10°10°20°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels-like high (°C)Air high (°C)Feels-like low (°C)Air low (°C)
Jan-2-2-19-14
Feb11-16-11
Mar77-8-4
Apr141402
May202079
Jun23231414
Jul25251818
Aug25261818
Sep22221212
Oct161635
Nov77-5-2
Dec00-14-10

Average hourly temperature in Kosan

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 August afternoons, near 26°C, and coldest before dawn in January, near -14°C.

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

Kosan 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-2° / -14°254.65.49.60.0
Feb / -11°304.94.910.50.0
Mar / -4°447.35.411.71.0
Apr14° / 7282134.4
May20° / 1049.5014.16.4
Jun23° / 14°12511.5014.76.4
Jul25° / 18°26717.8014.45.4
Aug26° / 18°24916.7013.55.6
Sep22° / 12°1258.8012.36.6
Oct16° / 536.20.2115.6
Nov / -2°507.63.29.91.3
Dec / -10°305.14.99.30.0

Chance of rain

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

Kosan gets about 1175 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is some rain, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 3.4 months, from around Jun 6 to Sep 15, peaking in July at about 59% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Jan 1.

July is the wettest month by volume, with 267 mm over about 18 wet days; January is the driest, with 25 mm. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetJul 21 · 59%Jan 1 · 14%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan155
Feb185
Mar237
Apr278
May3010
Jun3912
Jul5718
Aug5317
Sep319
Oct206
Nov248
Dec175

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Kosan collects about 1175 mm of rain across 108 wet days — roughly 98 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. July is the wettest month with 267 mm, while January is the driest at just 25 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 55% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

050100150200250300JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec25304472104125267249125535030
Rainfall (mm)Rain daysSnow days
Jan2555
Feb3055
Mar4475
Apr7282
May104100
Jun125120
Jul267180
Aug249170
Sep12590
Oct5360
Nov5083
Dec3055

Snow in Kosan

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.

Kosan averages about 26 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Oct 26 to May 1 — about 6.2 months.

March is snowiest, with roughly 5 days of snow and an estimated 23 cm of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 126 cm of snow.

02468JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsnow seasonsnow seasonMar 2
Snow daysSnowfall (cm)
Jan527
Feb528
Mar523
Apr211
May00
Jun00
Jul00
Aug00
Sep00
Oct00
Nov313
Dec524

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Kosan, 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 28 and lasts for 6.8 months, ending around April 22. The clearest month is December, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 64% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around April 23 and lasts for 5.2 months, ending around September 27. The cloudiest month is July, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 75% 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 · 66%Jul 18 · 24%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastclearercloudierclearer
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan6436
Feb6139
Mar5446
Apr5248
May4852
Jun3862
Jul2575
Aug3268
Sep4555
Oct6139
Nov6040
Dec6436

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 10, brings about 14 h 42 min of light; the shortest, around January 1, only 9 h 18 min — a swing of roughly 5 h 24 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan9.67:535:26
Feb10.57:306:00
Mar11.76:496:31
Apr13.06:007:01
May14.15:237:30
Jun14.75:097:52
Jul14.45:227:50
Aug13.55:497:20
Sep12.36:176:32
Oct11.06:465:44
Nov9.97:205:11
Dec9.37:485:05

Sunny days

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

Kosan 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 6.4 months, from around Oct 2 to Apr 14. The sunniest month is December, with roughly 16 sunny days (bright).

The greyest month is July, down near 4 sunny days — about 77% fewer than the December peak.

05101520JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsunniergreyersunniergloomymixedbrightDec 2917 daysJul 233 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan17Bright
Feb14Bright
Mar13Mixed
Apr11Mixed
May10Mixed
Jun7Gloomy
Jul4Gloomy
Aug5Gloomy
Sep9Mixed
Oct14Mixed
Nov14Mixed
Dec16Bright

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 Kosan, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 3.2 months, from around June 13 to September 16. The muggiest month is August, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 88% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around September 17 to June 12, and April 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%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecApr 15 · 100%Aug 3 · 2%oppressivecomfortablehumiddrymuggycomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)
Jan1000000
Feb1000000
Mar1000000
Apr991000
May927000
Jun31372750
Jul29344115
Aug210283920
Sep45292061
Oct954000
Nov1000000
Dec1000000

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 Kosan is typically calm, near 8 km/h, and varies little with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 6.6 months, from around Nov 4 to May 23. The windiest month is April, averaging about 10 km/h (calm).

The calmer part of the year runs from around Aug 2 to Nov 3, with September the calmest month at about 7 km/h.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwindiercalmerwindiercalmlight breezeApr 22 · 10 km/hSep 27 · 7 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan9calm
Feb9calm
Mar9calm
Apr10calm
May9calm
Jun7calm
Jul8calm
Aug8calm
Sep7calm
Oct7calm
Nov9calm
Dec9calm

Hazard calendar for Kosan

In seasonPeak

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

Kosan sits in the Pacific typhoon belt; the season peaks July–October.

Kosan's rainy season runs June–September, when most of the year's rain falls.

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

Best time to visit Kosan

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around late June, Kosan is still near the tail of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds already thinning.

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 times of year to visit Kosan for general outdoor tourist activities run from late April to mid July and again from mid August to mid October, with a peak score in the first week of June.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJun 1 · 6.9

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
Mar1.1poor
Apr4.4fair
May6.3good
Jun6.4good
Jul5.4fair
Aug5.6good
Sep6.6good
Oct5.5good
Nov1.4poor
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 Kosan for hot-weather activities is from late May to mid September, with a peak score in the second week of August.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationAug 12 · 5.3

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 Kosan, 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 August (highs near 26°C), the essentials are light clothes and rain gear. In the cold season around January (highs near -2°C), pack a warm layer and a heavy coat.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In August, Kosan sees daytime highs around 26°C and nights near 18°C. Pack rain gear. Worth having: light clothes. About 17 days see rain.

Sea temperature near Kosan

Average ocean temperature at the nearest coast, month by month, banded into swim-comfort zones — the other half of the beach question.

The sea at the nearest coast (about 35 km away) is warmest in August at about 24°C and coldest in February near 4°C.

It's comfortable for a long swim from Jul 1 to Sep 30 — about 3 months when the water holds above 20°C.

0°10°20°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcoolrefreshingwarmtropicalcomfortable to swim
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan5Bracing
Feb4Bracing
Mar5Bracing
Apr8Bracing
May13Bracing
Jun18Cool
Jul22Refreshing
Aug24Warm
Sep22Refreshing
Oct18Cool
Nov13Bracing
Dec9Bracing

UV index (midday) in Kosan 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 Kosan peaks around August 18 at about 8 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 19 at about 2 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 9 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateHighVery highVery highHighModerateLowAug 18UV 8Dec 19UV 2
UV index (midday)Level
Jan2Low
Feb3Moderate
Mar4Moderate
Apr6High
May6High
Jun8Very high
Jul7High
Aug9Very high
Sep7Very high
Oct5Moderate
Nov2Moderate
Dec2Low

Average hourly UV index in Kosan

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 7.5 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 4.5 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
Feb1.50
Mar40
Apr6.50
May6.50.5
Jun84
Jul73
Aug7.54.5
Sep6.53.5
Oct50
Nov00
Dec00

Air quality in Kosan 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 Kosan is worst in March — around 67 µg/m³ PM2.5 (unhealthy), about 2.4× the cleanest month (July, 28 µg/m³).

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

020406080JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecUnhealthyPoorModeratePoorMar 1467 µg/m³Jul 2428 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan66Unhealthy
Feb63Unhealthy
Mar67Unhealthy
Apr59Unhealthy
May47Poor
Jun36Poor
Jul28Moderate
Aug28Moderate
Sep34Moderate
Oct49Poor
Nov53Poor
Dec52Poor
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

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

The growing season in Kosan typically lasts about 219 days, from around April 4 to November 8 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from April 24 to October 15.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgrowing seasonMar 310%Apr 450%Apr 2490%Oct 1590%Nov 850%Dec 410%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan231
Feb528
Mar2031
Apr7523
May990
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct8616
Nov3630
Dec631

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. Kosan banks about 1,372 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around August.

05001,0001,500JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr5
May130
Jun260
Jul361
Aug369
Sep211
Oct37
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.

Kosan receives about 4.0 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 2.3 and 5.9 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.6 months, from around Feb 28 to Sep 15. The brightest month is May, averaging about 5.7 kWh/m² (bright).

The dimmest month is December, down near 2.3 kWh/m² — roughly 59% less than the May peak.

01234567JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseMay 305.9 kWhDec 32.3 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan2.7Moderate
Feb3.6Moderate
Mar4.6Bright
Apr5.4Bright
May5.7Bright
Jun5.5Bright
Jul4.3Bright
Aug4.1Bright
Sep4.0Bright
Oct3.5Moderate
Nov2.5Moderate
Dec2.3Moderate

Where is Kosan?

Kosan sits at 38.9°N, 127.4°E, 195 m above sea level, in North Korea. The nearest listed city is Hoeyang, 22 km away.

WŏnsanT’ongch’ŏn-ŭpKowŏn-ŭpCheorwonHwacheonYanggu

Topography around Kosan

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Kosan has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 366 m around an average of 215 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,492 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,626 m.

The land around Kosan is covered by cropland (54%) and trees (24%) within 3 km, trees (75%) within 16 km, and trees (58%) within 80 km.

3 km
366 m
16 km
1,492 m
80 km
1,626 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Nearby: Hoeyang 22 km · Anbyŏn-ŭp 23 km · Wŏnsan 33 km · T’ongch’ŏn-ŭp 42 km · Kowŏn-ŭp 66 km · Cheorwon 74 km · Hwacheon 87 km · Yanggu 97 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 Kosan (38.8558°, 127.4181°, elevation 195 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. Tropical-cyclone seasons are the published climatological basin seasons (NOAA National Hurricane Center / regional warning centres). Sea temperatures are the NOAA OISST v2.1 1991–2020 monthly climatology (public domain), sampled at the nearest ocean point. 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).