Climate averages 1991–2020
Hongwŏn weather
in January.
A freezing month with light precipitation: the coolest and the joint 2nd driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
January is a freezing month in Hongwŏn: daytime highs average -0.2°C and nights cool to about -9.2°C. By daytime temperature it is the coolest month of the year.
Expect about 30 mm of precipitation on roughly 6 days, which makes January a month with light precipitation (the joint 2nd driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 9 h 41 min on an average January day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Sinp’o (20 km away). In January its highs average -0.4°C, about as warm as Hongwŏn, with 33 mm of precipitation.
Among the 38 cities listed in North Korea, Hongwŏn ranks 18th of 38 for the warmest January highs and 32nd of 38 for the driest January (precipitation, lowest first). The mean January high of those 38 cities is -1.0°C; Hongwŏn is 0.8°C warmer than that mean.
From January to February, average highs rise by 2.0°C to 1.8°C, and monthly precipitation falls from 30 mm to 25 mm.
The annual picture
January in context
Monthly precipitation
Average total · mmAverages from hourly ERA5 reanalysis data. Actual weather varies from year to year. How these numbers are calculated
Every month, side by side
Hongwŏn climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Precipitation mm/month | Wet days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January, selected | -0.2°C-9.2°C | -9.2°C | 30 | 5.8 | 9.710 h |
| February | 1.8°C-7.4°C | -7.4°C | 25 | 5.2 | 10.711 h |
| March | 6.8°C-1.8°C | -1.8°C | 30 | 5.3 | 11.912 h |
| April | 13.3°C3.9°C | 3.9°C | 46 | 6.2 | 13.213 h |
| May | 18.4°C10.1°C | 10.1°C | 74 | 7.4 | 14.414 h |
| June | 22.0°C15.3°C | 15.3°C | 74 | 7.0 | 15.015 h |
| July | 25.0°C19.7°C | 19.7°C | 172 | 12.2 | 14.715 h |
| August | 25.5°C20.4°C | 20.4°C | 182 | 12.3 | 13.814 h |
| September | 21.7°C15.4°C | 15.4°C | 102 | 8.3 | 12.512 h |
| October | 16.3°C8.7°C | 8.7°C | 51 | 6.8 | 11.211 h |
| November | 8.7°C1.6°C | 1.6°C | 56 | 8.0 | 10.010 h |
| December | 2.1°C-5.6°C | -5.6°C | 35 | 6.5 | 9.49 h |
Precipitation (rain or snow, as water) is the average of the 30 separate monthly totals. A wet day is a local calendar day with at least 1 mm of precipitation. Daylight is the calculated sunrise-to-sunset length, not measured sunshine.
Compare places
January in nearby cities
- Sinp’o in JanuaryNorth Korea · 20 kmHigh -0.4°C · Low -7.1°C · 33 mm precipitation
- Hŭngnam in JanuaryNorth Korea · 34 kmHigh 0.1°C · Low -7.5°C · 31 mm precipitation
- Hamhŭng in JanuaryNorth Korea · 38 kmHigh -0.7°C · Low -10.8°C · 40 mm precipitation
- Changam-ch’on in JanuaryNorth Korea · 95 kmHigh -1.1°C · Low -12.3°C · 27 mm precipitation
- Wŏnsan in JanuaryNorth Korea · 106 kmHigh 0.5°C · Low -7.7°C · 36 mm precipitation
- Tŏkch’ŏn in JanuaryNorth Korea · 148 kmHigh -2.5°C · Low -14.0°C · 18 mm precipitation
- Hyesan in JanuaryNorth Korea · 154 kmHigh -8.0°C · Low -20.9°C · 10 mm precipitation
- Kanggye in JanuaryNorth Korea · 156 kmHigh -5.6°C · Low -19.3°C · 15 mm precipitation
Read the numbers correctly
Climate, not a promise.
These patterns help compare months. They cannot tell you the weather on a specific day of your trip.
Sources, method and limitsHow these numbers are made (what the highs, lows and rain days mean, the sources and the model cell used for Hongwŏn) is explained once on the Hongwŏn year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.