Climate averages 1991–2020
Kaesŏng weather
in May.
A warm, wet month: the 5th warmest and the 8th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
May is a warm month in Kaesŏng: daytime highs average 22.2°C and nights cool to about 11.3°C. By daytime temperature it is the 5th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 99 mm of rain on roughly 8 days, which makes May a wet month (the 8th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 14 h 12 min on an average May day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Paech’ŏn-ŭp (22 km away). In May its highs average 21.4°C, 0.8°C cooler than Kaesŏng, with 99 mm of rain.
Among the 38 cities listed in North Korea, Kaesŏng ranks joint 3rd of 38 for the warmest May highs and joint 29th of 38 for the driest May (rainfall, lowest first). The mean May high of those 38 cities is 20.2°C; Kaesŏng is 2.0°C warmer than that mean.
From May to June, average highs rise by 4.2°C to 26.4°C, and monthly rainfall rises from 99 mm to 124 mm.
The annual picture
May 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
Kaesŏng climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Precipitation mm/month | Wet days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1.4°C-7.3°C | -7.3°C | 16 | 3.4 | 9.910 h |
| February | 4.5°C-5.1°C | -5.1°C | 23 | 3.9 | 10.811 h |
| March | 10.0°C-0.7°C | -0.7°C | 33 | 5.3 | 11.912 h |
| April | 16.6°C5.2°C | 5.2°C | 61 | 7.0 | 13.213 h |
| May, selected | 22.2°C11.3°C | 11.3°C | 99 | 8.2 | 14.214 h |
| June | 26.4°C17.0°C | 17.0°C | 124 | 9.7 | 14.715 h |
| July | 27.9°C21.2°C | 21.2°C | 301 | 16.4 | 14.515 h |
| August | 28.6°C21.7°C | 21.7°C | 273 | 15.1 | 13.614 h |
| September | 24.8°C15.9°C | 15.9°C | 116 | 7.2 | 12.512 h |
| October | 18.6°C8.4°C | 8.4°C | 50 | 5.1 | 11.211 h |
| November | 10.4°C1.3°C | 1.3°C | 45 | 6.8 | 10.210 h |
| December | 3.2°C-5.1°C | -5.1°C | 21 | 4.5 | 9.610 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
May in nearby cities
- Paech’ŏn-ŭp in MayNorth Korea · 22 kmHigh 21.4°C · Low 11.1°C · 99 mm rain
- Paju in MaySouth Korea · 30 kmHigh 21.9°C · Low 11.5°C · 98 mm rain
- Pongch’ŏn-ŭp in MayNorth Korea · 35 kmHigh 21.6°C · Low 11.0°C · 99 mm rain
- Gimpo-si in MaySouth Korea · 41 kmHigh 20.5°C · Low 12.1°C · 92 mm rain
- Goyang-si in MaySouth Korea · 43 kmHigh 21.5°C · Low 11.6°C · 98 mm rain
- Yangju in MaySouth Korea · 47 kmHigh 22.0°C · Low 11.2°C · 100 mm rain
- Uijeongbu-si in MaySouth Korea · 50 kmHigh 21.9°C · Low 11.4°C · 100 mm rain
- Ch’ŏngdan-ŭp in MayNorth Korea · 54 kmHigh 19.8°C · Low 11.6°C · 94 mm rain
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 Kaesŏng) is explained once on the Kaesŏng year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.