Myŏngch’ŏn in Winter

In winter (December, January and February), Myŏngch’ŏn sees average daytime highs around -1°C and overnight lows near -10°C, with 114 mm of precipitation over about 26 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the driest season of the year.

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around -1°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 49% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.

Winter is Myŏngch’ŏn's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Myŏngch’ŏn's year-round climate.

Avg daytime high
-1°C
coldest season of the year
Avg overnight low
-10°C
Precipitation
114 mm
26 wet days
Avg wind
7 km/h
Travel score
0.0
weakest season of the year
Months
Dec · Jan · Feb

Temperature in Myŏngch’ŏn in Winter

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around -1°C.

A typical winter day in Myŏngch’ŏn reaches about -1°C and drops to -10°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is December, the coolest January.

-20°-10°10°DecJanFeb

How winter really feels in Myŏngch’ŏn

Once humidity and wind are folded in, winter brings about 0 days that feel above 32°C and 90 that feel at or below 0°C.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ C
90
79 feel bitter (≤ -10°C)

The story in winter is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.

Myŏngch’ŏn weather by month

How the three winter months (December, January and February) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan-2° / -11°368.610.69.40.0
Feb-0° / -10°296.97.510.40.0
Mar / -4°336.85.811.70.5
Apr13° / 437.51.613.13.7
May18° / 659.20.114.36.0
Jun22° / 14°598.3014.96.6
Jul25° / 18°12511.7014.76.3
Aug26° / 19°15314013.66.0
Sep22° / 14°998.5012.36.8
Oct16° / 557.30.310.95.6
Nov / -0°548.64.49.71.3
Dec / -7°4910.211.19.10.0

Cloud cover in Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 49% of the time across winter.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitationSnow

Myŏngch’ŏn gets around 114 mm of rain and snow over 26 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%10%20%30%40%50%DecJanFeb

Humidity in Winter

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of winter feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Wind in Winter

Winds average 7 km/h across winter.

0246810DecJanFeb

Sunrise & sunset in Winter

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 9 h 18 min in early December to 10 h 54 min by late February. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMDecJanFeb

Solar energy in Winter

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 2.7 kWh/m².

012345DecJanFeb
Planning a trip in winter

Hazard calendar for Myŏngch’ŏn

In seasonPeak

In winter, Myŏngch’ŏn overlaps its pacific typhoon season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.

Myŏngch’ŏn sits in the Pacific typhoon belt; the season peaks July–October.

Myŏngch’ŏn's rainy season runs July–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

Is winter a good time to visit Myŏngch’ŏn?

Our two travel scores rate winter for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.

0.0
Sightseeing
4th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
4th-best month of the year

winter is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Myŏngch’ŏn.

What to pack for Myŏngch’ŏn in Winter

From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.

In winter, Myŏngch’ŏn sees daytime highs around -1°C and nights near -10°C. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. Worth having: rain gear. About 26 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain gear

Sea temperature near Myŏngch’ŏn in Winter

The nearest coast averages about 6°C across winter — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

The sea at the nearest coast (about 27 km away) is warmest in August at about 22°C and coldest in February near 4°C.

It's comfortable for a long swim from Jul 25 to Sep 15 — about 1.7 months when the water holds above 20°C.

0°10°20°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcoolrefreshingwarmcomfortable to swim
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan6Bracing
Feb4Bracing
Mar5Bracing
Apr7Bracing
May10Bracing
Jun15Bracing
Jul19Cool
Aug22Refreshing
Sep20Refreshing
Oct17Cool
Nov12Bracing
Dec8Bracing

UV index in Myŏngch’ŏn in Winter

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 2. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Myŏngch’ŏn peaks around August 18 at about 8 (very high) — sunscreen and a hat are worth it in the middle of the day. It bottoms out near December 19 at about 1 (low).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighHighVery highHighModerateLowAug 18UV 8Dec 19UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan2Low
Feb3Moderate
Mar4Moderate
Apr5High
May7Very high
Jun7High
Jul6High
Aug8Very high
Sep7High
Oct4Moderate
Nov2Low
Dec1Low

Air quality in Myŏngch’ŏn in Winter

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where winter falls, not just the annual average.

Air quality in Myŏngch’ŏn is worst in April — around 42 µg/m³ PM2.5 (poor), about 3.5× the cleanest month (August, 12 µg/m³).

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

0204060JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModeratePoorModerateModerateApr 1241 µg/m³Aug 2112 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan25Moderate
Feb28Moderate
Mar38Poor
Apr42Poor
May28Moderate
Jun17Moderate
Jul14Moderate
Aug12Good
Sep12Moderate
Oct17Moderate
Nov18Moderate
Dec16Moderate
Location & terrain

Where is Myŏngch’ŏn?

Myŏngch’ŏn sits at 41.1°N, 129.4°E, 234 m above sea level, in North Korea. The nearest listed city is Myŏnggan-dong, 9.0 km away.

ŎrangKyŏngsŏngRanamChangam-ch’on

Topography around Myŏngch’ŏn

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Myŏngch’ŏn has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 285 m around an average of 293 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,025 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,500 m.

The land around Myŏngch’ŏn is covered by cropland (86%) within 3 km, trees (54%) and cropland (34%) within 16 km, and trees (53%) and water (32%) within 80 km.

3 km
285 m
16 km
1,025 m
80 km
2,500 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Winter weather nearby: Myŏnggan-dong 9.0 km · Kilju 15 km · Hwasŏng 21 km · Hwadae 26 km · Ŏrang 46 km · Kyŏngsŏng 59 km · Ranam 75 km · Changam-ch’on 75 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 Myŏngch’ŏn (41.0706°, 129.4292°, elevation 234 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.