Climate and average weather in Songwŏn

In Songwŏn, the summers are warm, wet, and mostly cloudy and the winters are frigid, snowy, and mostly clear.

Best: mid August to mid October

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Songwŏn typically varies from -18°C to 25°C, and is rarely below -25°C or above 30°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 Songwŏn for warm-weather activities are from early May to late June and mid August to mid October.

Hottest
Aug
25°
Coldest
Jan
-18°
Wettest
Jul
334 mm
Driest
Jan
16 mm
Rain / yr
1360 mm
128 wet days
Daylight
9.1–14.9 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
329 m
40.4°N
Clearest
Jan
38% cloud

Songwŏn 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 August to mid October.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Daily average highs and lows in Songwŏn, 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 11 to October 1, with daily high temperatures above 18°C. The hottest month of the year in Songwŏn is August, with an average high of 25°C and low of 17°C.

The cool season lasts 3.0 months, from November 27 to February 25, with daily high temperatures below -0°C. The coldest month of the year in Songwŏn is January, with an average low of -18°C and high of -6°C.

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

-20°-10°10°20°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan-6-18
Feb-3-14
Mar4-6
Apr132
May198
Jun2314
Jul2518
Aug2517
Sep2111
Oct143
Nov4-5
Dec-4-15

How hot and cold Songwŏn 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 -24°C (around January 22), with roughly 179 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 0°C) 117 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-6-6-24-18
Feb-3-3-20-14
Mar44-10-6
Apr1313-12
May191978
Jun23231414
Jul25251818
Aug25251717
Sep21211111
Oct141413
Nov44-9-5
Dec-4-4-20-15

Average hourly temperature in Songwŏn

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 25°C, and coldest before dawn in January, near -18°C.

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

Songwŏn 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-6° / -18°163.64.29.40.0
Feb-3° / -14°264.95.210.40.0
Mar / -6°437.76.211.70.4
Apr13° / 749.82.8133.6
May19° / 12512.70.114.25.7
Jun23° / 14°17316.7014.85.6
Jul25° / 18°33421.1014.64.9
Aug25° / 17°28517.9013.65.4
Sep21° / 11°1199.5012.36.6
Oct14° / 698.70.610.94.4
Nov / -5°658.64.89.80.4
Dec-4° / -15°326.36.59.20.0

Chance of rain

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

Songwŏn gets about 1360 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 4.8 months, from around Apr 19 to Sep 11, peaking in July at about 70% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Jan 25.

July is the wettest month by volume, with 334 mm over about 21 wet days; January is the driest, with 16 mm. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetJul 28 · 70%Jan 25 · 11%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan124
Feb175
Mar258
Apr3310
May4113
Jun5517
Jul6721
Aug5818
Sep3310
Oct279
Nov289
Dec206

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Songwŏn collects about 1360 mm of rain across 128 wet days — roughly 113 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. July is the wettest month with 334 mm, while January is the driest at just 16 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 58% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

050100150200250300350400JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec16264374125173334285119696532
Rainfall (mm)Rain daysSnow days
Jan1644
Feb2655
Mar4386
Apr74103
May125130
Jun173170
Jul334210
Aug285180
Sep119100
Oct6991
Nov6595
Dec3267

Snow in Songwŏn

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.

Songwŏn averages about 30 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Oct 20 to May 5 — about 6.5 months.

March is snowiest, with roughly 6 days of snow and an estimated 30 cm of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 147 cm of snow.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsnow seasonsnow seasonMar 4
Snow daysSnowfall (cm)
Jan418
Feb526
Mar630
Apr312
May00
Jun00
Jul00
Aug00
Sep00
Oct11
Nov528
Dec732

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Songwŏn, 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 13 and lasts for 6.7 months, ending around April 3. 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 April 4 and lasts for 5.3 months, ending around September 12. The cloudiest month is July, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 74% 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%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJan 28 · 71%Jul 21 · 23%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastclearercloudierclearer
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan7030
Feb6535
Mar5644
Apr4951
May4753
Jun3763
Jul2674
Aug3565
Sep5347
Oct6139
Nov5941
Dec6634

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 15, brings about 14 h 54 min of light; the shortest, around December 14, only 9 h 06 min — a swing of roughly 5 h 48 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan9.48:035:28
Feb10.47:396:03
Mar11.76:566:36
Apr13.06:057:09
May14.25:267:40
Jun14.85:118:03
Jul14.65:248:01
Aug13.65:527:29
Sep12.36:236:39
Oct10.96:545:49
Nov9.87:305:13
Dec9.27:595:07

Sunny days

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

Songwŏn 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 18 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 6.3 months, from around Sep 13 to Mar 24. The sunniest month is January, with roughly 18 sunny days (bright).

The greyest month is July, down near 3 sunny days — about 81% fewer than the January peak.

05101520JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsunniergreyersunniergloomymixedbrightJan 518 daysJul 213 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan18Bright
Feb14Bright
Mar12Mixed
Apr10Mixed
May10Mixed
Jun6Gloomy
Jul3Gloomy
Aug6Gloomy
Sep12Mixed
Oct15Mixed
Nov14Mixed
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 Songwŏn, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 3.0 months, from around June 13 to September 10. The muggiest month is July, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 90% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around September 11 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 23 · 100%Jul 29 · 3%oppressivehumidmuggycomfortabledrycomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)
Jan1000000
Feb1000000
Mar1000000
Apr1000000
May936100
Jun31392730
Jul1939419
Aug615303810
Sep63231040
Oct991000
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 Songwŏn is typically calm, near 8 km/h, and varies little with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 4.3 months, from around Jan 23 to Jun 1. The windiest month is March, averaging about 9 km/h (calm).

The calmer part of the year runs from around Jun 2 to Oct 21, with August the calmest month at about 6 km/h.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwindiercalmercalmlight breezeMar 21 · 10 km/hAug 19 · 6 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan8calm
Feb8calm
Mar9calm
Apr9calm
May8calm
Jun7calm
Jul7calm
Aug6calm
Sep7calm
Oct8calm
Nov8calm
Dec8calm

Hazard calendar for Songwŏn

In seasonPeak

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

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

Songwŏn's rainy season runs June–August, 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 Songwŏn

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around late August, Songwŏn 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 times of year to visit Songwŏn for general outdoor tourist activities run from early May to late June and again from mid August to early October, with a peak score in the third week of September.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationSep 19 · 6.7

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
Mar0.4poor
Apr3.5fair
May5.7good
Jun5.6good
Jul4.9fair
Aug5.4fair
Sep6.5good
Oct4.4fair
Nov0.5poor
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 Songwŏn for hot-weather activities is from mid June to mid September, with a peak score in the last week of August.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationAug 25 · 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 Songwŏn, 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 25°C), the essentials are light clothes and rain gear. In the cold season around January (highs near -6°C), pack a warm layer and a heavy coat.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In August, Songwŏn sees daytime highs around 25°C and nights near 17°C. Pack rain gear. Worth having: light clothes. About 18 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in Songwŏn 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 Songwŏn 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 2 (low).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighVery highModerateLowAug 18UV 8Dec 19UV 2
UV index (midday)Level
Jan2Low
Feb2Moderate
Mar4Moderate
Apr6High
May7High
Jun7High
Jul6High
Aug8Very high
Sep7Very high
Oct4Moderate
Nov2Moderate
Dec2Low

Average hourly UV index in Songwŏn

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
Feb00
Mar30
Apr60
May73
Jun72.5
Jul72.5
Aug7.54.5
Sep6.53
Oct3.50
Nov00
Dec00

Air quality in Songwŏn 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 Songwŏn is worst in March — around 43 µg/m³ PM2.5 (poor), about 2.2× the cleanest month (August, 19 µg/m³).

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

0204060JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModeratePoorModerateMar 1542 µg/m³Aug 2219 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan34Moderate
Feb38Poor
Mar43Poor
Apr36Poor
May32Moderate
Jun28Moderate
Jul22Moderate
Aug19Moderate
Sep20Moderate
Oct25Moderate
Nov27Moderate
Dec29Moderate
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

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

The growing season in Songwŏn typically lasts about 207 days, from around April 6 to October 29 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from April 26 to October 9.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgrowing seasonMar 1410%Apr 650%Apr 2690%Oct 990%Oct 2950%Nov 2210%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan031
Feb128
Mar1431
Apr7125
May990
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct7822
Nov2030
Dec131

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. Songwŏn banks about 1,277 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around July.

05001,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr2
May113
Jun252
Jul360
Aug353
Sep183
Oct14
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.

Songwŏn receives about 4.0 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — moderate — with a clear seasonal swing between 2.1 and 5.8 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 7.1 months, from around Feb 28 to Oct 1. The brightest month is May, averaging about 5.6 kWh/m² (bright).

The dimmest month is December, down near 2.2 kWh/m² — roughly 61% less than the May peak.

01234567JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseMay 305.8 kWhDec 102.1 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan2.6Moderate
Feb3.5Moderate
Mar4.6Bright
Apr5.2Bright
May5.6Bright
Jun5.4Bright
Jul4.2Bright
Aug4.3Bright
Sep4.3Bright
Oct3.4Moderate
Nov2.3Moderate
Dec2.1Moderate

Where is Songwŏn?

Songwŏn sits at 40.4°N, 125.9°E, 329 m above sea level, in North Korea. The nearest listed city is Kop’ung, 26 km away.

Songwŏn-ŭpKujang-ŭpYŏch’im-dongKusŏng-siSakchu-ŭpKaech’ŏnTŏkch’ŏn

Topography around Songwŏn

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Songwŏn has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 581 m around an average of 430 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,530 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,956 m.

The land around Songwŏn is covered by trees (67%) within 3 km, trees (86%) within 16 km, and trees (79%) within 80 km.

3 km
581 m
16 km
1,530 m
80 km
1,956 m
treesgrasslandcroplandwater
Nearby: Kop’ung 26 km · Songwŏn-ŭp 36 km · Kujang-ŭp 58 km · Yŏch’im-dong 66 km · Kusŏng-si 69 km · Sakchu-ŭp 70 km · Kaech’ŏn 75 km · Tŏkch’ŏn 77 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 Songwŏn (40.377°, 125.8787°, elevation 329 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). 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).