Gwangju climate
Gwangju (South Korea) has a hot-summer humid continental climate (Köppen Dfa). The average temperature over the year is 13 °C55 °F, and about 1,381 mm54 in of precipitation falls in an average year.
Temperature by month
Precipitation by month
Gwangju climate table
| Month | High °C°F | Low °C°F | Mean °C°F | Precip. mmin | Frost days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 439 | −425 | 032 | 301.2 | 28 |
| Feb | 744 | −327 | 235 | 471.9 | 24 |
| Mar | 1253 | 032 | 643 | 662.6 | 17 |
| Apr | 1864 | 642 | 1253 | 1084.3 | 2 |
| May | 2374 | 1152 | 1763 | 1134.5 | 0 |
| Jun | 2680 | 1762 | 2171 | 1606.3 | 0 |
| Jul | 2984 | 2170 | 2577 | 29011 | 0 |
| Aug | 2985 | 2272 | 2678 | 26510 | 0 |
| Sep | 2678 | 1762 | 2170 | 1515.9 | 0 |
| Oct | 2068 | 949 | 1559 | 662.6 | 0 |
| Nov | 1356 | 338 | 847 | 481.9 | 8 |
| Dec | 643 | −228 | 236 | 361.4 | 25 |
| Year | 2985 | −425 | 1355 | 1,38154 | 104 |
“Year” row: highest monthly high, lowest monthly low, annual mean and annual total. Frost days are for the whole grid cell.
| Month | Humid. | Cloud | Solar | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 80% | 74% | 2.2 | 10:02 |
| Feb | 77% | 70% | 3.1 | 10:52 |
| Mar | 75% | 67% | 4.2 | 11:52 |
| Apr | 75% | 66% | 5.0 | 13:02 |
| May | 78% | 67% | 5.4 | 13:00 |
| Jun | 82% | 76% | 5.0 | 14:31 |
| Jul | 88% | 79% | 4.5 | 14:18 |
| Aug | 86% | 70% | 4.6 | 13:28 |
| Sep | 84% | 65% | 4.2 | 12:21 |
| Oct | 80% | 56% | 3.6 | 11:14 |
| Nov | 80% | 63% | 2.5 | 10:16 |
| Dec | 81% | 72% | 2.0 | 9:48 |
Humid. = average relative humidity at 2 m; cloud = average cloud amount; solar = average daily solar energy reaching the ground in kWh/m² (all-sky); daylight in hours:minutes, calculated for the 15th of each month.
What the climate of Gwangju is like
The warmest month is August, with an average high of 29 °C85 °F and a low of 22 °C72 °F. The coldest is January, when highs average 4 °C39 °F and lows −4 °C25 °F. Seasons are strongly marked: the warmest month is on average 25.8 °C46.4 °F warmer than the coldest.
It is wet, with about 1,381 mm54 in of precipitation per year. The wettest three-month stretch is June–August, which brings 52% of the annual total. The wettest month is July (290 mm11 in), the driest is January (30 mm1.2 in).
Relative humidity ranges from 75% in April to 88% in July. The clearest skies (lowest average cloud amount, 56%) are typical of October. Average wind speed near the ground ranges from 7 km/h (4 mph) in September to 10 km/h (6 mph) in January. Daylight lasts from about 9.8 hours in December to 14.5 hours in June.
A lasting snow cover is typical in January, when the average snow depth in the reanalysis exceeds 10 cm (deepest in January, about 12 cm).
Best time to visit Gwangju
Based on these averages, the most comfortable months for sightseeing and outdoor activities are October: average highs of 20 °C68 °F to 20 °C68 °F with 66 mm2.6 in to 66 mm2.6 in of precipitation per month.
The most challenging month is January, which is cold, with average highs of 4 °C39 °F.
Comfort score: months are ranked by how close they come to an average high of 21–28 °C (70–82 °F), lows above 5 °C (41 °F), little precipitation and moderate humidity. The best-ranked months of each place are recommended, even where none meets all of these. These are general rules of thumb applied to long-term averages.
What to pack for Gwangju
- Winter (December–February) — highs 439 to 7 °C44 °F, lows −425 to −2 °C28 °F, about 38 mm1.5 in of precipitation a month. Pack a warm coat, layers and closed shoes and shoes with good grip, as frost is common.
- Spring (March–May) — highs 1253 to 23 °C74 °F, lows 032 to 11 °C52 °F, about 96 mm3.8 in of precipitation a month. Pack long sleeves, a sweater and a medium jacket, an extra layer for the cooler mornings and evenings and an umbrella or light rain jacket.
- Summer (June–August) — highs 2680 to 29 °C85 °F, lows 1762 to 22 °C72 °F, about 238 mm9.4 in of precipitation a month. Pack light summer clothes such as T-shirts, shorts or light dresses and a good rain jacket or umbrella and quick-drying shoes.
- Autumn (September–November) — highs 1356 to 26 °C78 °F, lows 338 to 17 °C62 °F, about 89 mm3.5 in of precipitation a month. Pack light layers — T-shirts plus a light sweater or jacket.
How Gwangju compares
Compared with Daejeon, about 139 km to the north, Gwangju is on average 0.9 °C1.6 °F warmer and receives 13% more precipitation (1,381 mm54 in vs 1,225 mm48 in). The difference is largest in January (2.8 °C5 °F warmer).
Of the 34 places in South Korea covered by World Climates, Gwangju is the 14th warmest by annual mean temperature and the 9th wettest by annual precipitation. See all of them on the South Korea climate page.
Places in other countries with the most similar temperature and rainfall pattern: Utsunomiya (Japan, Cfa), Matsumoto (Japan, Dfa) and Iida (Japan, Cfa).
The same NASA POWER grid cell also contains Masan (pop. 434,371). Their long-term averages in this dataset are essentially the same as for Gwangju, so they do not have separate pages.
Nearby places
- Jeongeup 50 km · 13 °C55 °F · 1,303 mm51 in
- Suncheon 57 km · 13 °C56 °F · 1,408 mm55 in
- Mokpo 61 km · 14 °C56 °F · 1,292 mm51 in
- Jeonju 77 km · 12 °C54 °F · 1,267 mm50 in
- Iksan 88 km · 13 °C55 °F · 1,267 mm50 in
- Chinju 106 km · 14 °C57 °F · 1,472 mm58 in
- Daejeon 139 km · 12 °C54 °F · 1,225 mm48 in
- Changwon 161 km · 14 °C58 °F · 1,488 mm59 in
Frequently asked questions
What is the warmest month in Gwangju?
August is the warmest month in Gwangju, with an average high of 29 °C (85 °F) and an average low of 22 °C (72 °F).
What is the coldest month in Gwangju?
January is the coldest month, with an average high of 4 °C (39 °F) and an average low of -4 °C (25 °F).
When does it rain the most in Gwangju?
July is the wettest month with about 290 mm (11.4 in) of precipitation; January is the driest with about 30 mm (1.2 in).
What is the best time to visit Gwangju?
Judging by long-term averages, the most comfortable months are October.
About this data
All figures are 25-year averages (January 2001 – December 2025) from the NASA POWER project. Temperature, humidity, wind and precipitation come from the MERRA-2 reanalysis (precipitation is the bias-corrected MERRA-2 product), cloud and solar values from CERES satellite data. They describe a grid cell of roughly 50–70 km, not a single weather station, so they can differ from airport records — most of all on coasts, in mountains and for rainfall. Average highs and lows are the monthly mean temperature plus/minus half of the average daily temperature range. Counts of rainy days are not part of this dataset.
The grid cell’s average elevation is 137 m, while Gwangju lies at about 47 m. Temperatures on this page were therefore adjusted by +0.6 °C1 °F using the standard lapse rate of 6.5 °C per 1,000 m.