Climate averages 1991–2020
Sunch’ŏn weather
in January.
A freezing month with very little precipitation: the coolest and the driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
January is a freezing month in Sunch’ŏn: daytime highs average -1.5°C and nights cool to about -11.2°C. By daytime temperature it is the coolest month of the year.
Expect about 14 mm of precipitation on roughly 3 days, which makes January a month with very little precipitation (the driest month of the year). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 9 h 44 min on an average January day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is P’yŏngsŏng (21 km away). In January its highs average -0.9°C, 0.6°C warmer than Sunch’ŏn, with 13 mm of precipitation.
Among the 38 cities listed in North Korea, Sunch’ŏn ranks 29th of 38 for the warmest January highs and joint 11th of 38 for the driest January (precipitation, lowest first). The mean January high of those 38 cities is -1.0°C; Sunch’ŏn is 0.5°C cooler than that mean.
From January to February, average highs rise by 4.0°C to 2.5°C, and monthly precipitation rises from 14 mm to 24 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
Sunch’ŏn climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Precipitation mm/month | Wet days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January, selected | -1.5°C-11.2°C | -11.2°C | 14 | 3.1 | 9.710 h |
| February | 2.5°C-7.3°C | -7.3°C | 24 | 4.3 | 10.711 h |
| March | 8.7°C-2.2°C | -2.2°C | 32 | 5.8 | 11.912 h |
| April | 15.8°C3.8°C | 3.8°C | 63 | 7.6 | 13.213 h |
| May | 21.5°C10.3°C | 10.3°C | 108 | 9.1 | 14.314 h |
| June | 25.8°C16.2°C | 16.2°C | 131 | 11.7 | 14.915 h |
| July | 27.5°C20.4°C | 20.4°C | 330 | 18.1 | 14.715 h |
| August | 27.8°C20.6°C | 20.6°C | 270 | 15.7 | 13.714 h |
| September | 23.9°C14.8°C | 14.8°C | 110 | 7.9 | 12.512 h |
| October | 17.1°C7.1°C | 7.1°C | 57 | 7.3 | 11.211 h |
| November | 8.3°C-0.3°C | -0.3°C | 60 | 8.0 | 10.110 h |
| December | 0.5°C-7.8°C | -7.8°C | 29 | 5.9 | 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
- P’yŏngsŏng in JanuaryNorth Korea · 21 kmHigh -0.9°C · Low -10.2°C · 13 mm precipitation
- Paek'ak in JanuaryNorth Korea · 28 kmHigh -1.3°C · Low -10.8°C · 11 mm precipitation
- Kaech’ŏn in JanuaryNorth Korea · 30 kmHigh -1.4°C · Low -12.5°C · 15 mm precipitation
- Tŏkch’ŏn in JanuaryNorth Korea · 45 kmHigh -2.5°C · Low -14.0°C · 18 mm precipitation
- Pyongyang in JanuaryNorth Korea · 47 kmHigh -0.7°C · Low -9.5°C · 13 mm precipitation
- Man’gyŏngdae-ri in JanuaryNorth Korea · 54 kmHigh -0.6°C · Low -9.0°C · 13 mm precipitation
- Kangsŏn in JanuaryNorth Korea · 63 kmHigh -0.4°C · Low -8.4°C · 12 mm precipitation
- Songnim-ni in JanuaryNorth Korea · 78 kmHigh -0.4°C · Low -8.4°C · 14 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 Sunch’ŏn) is explained once on the Sunch’ŏn year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.