Geography and Climate
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Pyongyang is located in west-central North Korea; the city lies on a flat plain about 50 km (30 mi) east of the Korea Bay, an arm of the Yellow Sea. The Taedong River flows southwestward through the city toward the Korea Bay.
The climate of Pyongyang is a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dwa). Cold, dry winds can blow from Siberia in winter, making conditions very cold; the temperature is usually below freezing between November and early March, though the average daytime high is a few degrees above freezing in every month except January. The winter is generally much drier than summer, with snow falling for 37 days on average.
The transition from the cold, dry winter to the warm, wet summer occurs rather quickly between April and early May, and there is a similar abrupt return to winter conditions in late October and November. Summers are generally hot and humid, with the East Asian monsoon taking place from June until August; these are also the hottest months, with average temperatures of 21 °C (70 °F) to 25 °C (77 °F), and daytime highs often above 30 °C (86 °F).
| Climate data for Pyongyang | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | −0.8 (30.6) |
2.4 (36.3) |
8.9 (48.0) |
17.1 (62.8) |
22.6 (72.7) |
26.7 (80.1) |
28.6 (83.5) |
28.9 (84.0) |
24.7 (76.5) |
18.2 (64.8) |
9.4 (48.9) |
1.7 (35.1) |
15.7 (60.3) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −10.7 (12.7) |
−7.8 (18.0) |
−1.8 (28.8) |
4.9 (40.8) |
10.9 (51.6) |
16.5 (61.7) |
20.7 (69.3) |
20.5 (68.9) |
14.3 (57.7) |
6.7 (44.1) |
−0.3 (31.5) |
−7.2 (19.0) |
5.6 (42.1) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 12.2 (0.48) |
11.0 (0.433) |
24.7 (0.972) |
49.9 (1.965) |
72.2 (2.843) |
90.3 (3.555) |
275.2 (10.835) |
212.8 (8.378) |
100.2 (3.945) |
39.9 (1.571) |
34.9 (1.374) |
16.5 (0.65) |
939.8 (37) |
| Avg. precipitation days | 5.2 | 4.2 | 5.1 | 6.7 | 8.1 | 8.7 | 14.4 | 11.0 | 7.2 | 6.1 | 7.3 | 5.9 | 89.9 |
| Source: World Meteorological Organisation | |||||||||||||
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