Temperature
Korea’s climate has wide variations and differences influenced by monsoons, the latitudinal position and terrain and the currents running along its coasts. The country spans nine latitudes with the elevations in the north greater than in the south. Due to these geo-graphical factors, the average temperature drops from the south to the north. The average temperature throughout the year is 13 degrees Celcius along the southern coast and drops as low as 10 degrees Celcius and 8 degrees Celcius respectively over the central and northern zones. The west coast, facing continental Asia, is vulnerable to the influences of cool monsoons during all seasons of the year. The east coast, on the other hand, is separated from the West by steep mountain ranges that protect it from the northwesterly winds. Furthermore, owing to the warm currents from the east sea, it is about 2 degrees Celcius warmer than the west coast.
Differences in temperature are least conspicuous during the summer months. The average temperature in August in the lower area of the east coast, which is affected by warm currents, is about 25 degrees Celcius, while it falls below this on the northeastern coast and in the Kaema Plateau. The average maximum temperature throughout the country is generally over 40 degrees Celcius. The hottest period of the year lasts for about one month, beginning in early August. The outstanding feature of winter is a clear temperature difference between the north and the south. The average minimum temperatures along the southern coast, in the interior and on the Kaema Plateau in the north are -5 degrees Celcius, -9 degrees Celcius and -26 degrees Celcius, respectively. The northern frontier town of Chunggangjin once recorded the lowest temperature in Korea at -43.6 degrees Celcius. The winter lasts six months in the northernmost areas as compared with only three months in the southern provinces.
Rainfall
Korea is located in the East-Asian Monsoon belt. The summer monsoon brings abundant moisture from the ocean, and produces heavy rainfalls. The average annual precipitation in Korea varies from 500mm in the northeastern inland areas to 1,500mm on the southern coast. More than half of the land registers an average annual precipitation rate of 800mm to 1,000mm. About 55-56 percent of the total annual rainfall occurs in June, July and August and often some 30 percent of the annual rainfall is seen in July alone. There is more rainfall in the wetern regions than in the east.
Particularly, South Kyongsang province draws much more than 1,300mm of rainfall a year. The eastern inland areas along the Chongchon and Han River basins, mideast coastal areas and western part of the southern coast are where heavy rains are recorded every year. The areas on the upper reaches of the Tumen River registers the scantiest rainfall of 500mm.