Similar Climates › City Pairings › Pyongyang ≈ Des Moines
City Pairings
loose match
Pyongyang, North Korea and Des Moines, Iowa are a loose climate match — 10,206 km (6,342 mi) apart. Pyongyang is Köppen zone Dwa; Des Moines is Dfa.
See Pyongyang on the interactive map →Pyongyang is classed dry-winter continental (Dwa) while Des Moines is hot-summer continental (Dfa) — different Köppen labels, but January and July still land close enough to pair. Roughly 10,206 km (6,342 mi) separates them — far enough that Des Moines feels like another continent, close enough on the climate numbers to stand in for Pyongyang.
It is a loose match: useful as a climate analogue for Pyongyang, though not a perfect copy. Temperatures stay tight: January means differ by 0°C (Des Moines cooler); July by 0°C (Des Moines warmer). Rainfall shifts more: Des Moines is 165 mm drier in July.
Sunshine: Des Moines averages 9.2 hours a day across the two months vs 8.2 in Pyongyang (1.1 h/day more; January 5.8 h vs 7.8 h, July 12.7 h vs 8.5 h). Air quality: mean PM2.5 is 12 µg/m³ in Des Moines vs 26 in Pyongyang (lower by 14 µg/m³). Dew points differ modestly (January -9°C vs -11°C; July 19°C vs 21°C).
January & July · °C and mm
Compare Pyongyang and Des Moines month by month on the interactive map →
See Des Moines's climate twin on its own page.
On Similar Climates, Des Moines, Iowa is the closest distant match for Pyongyang, North Korea — scored loose, about 10,206 km (6,342 mi) away.
Pyongyang and Des Moines are separated by roughly 10,206 km (6,342 mi) on the great-circle route.
Yes — both cities are in the same hemisphere, so summer and winter fall in the same calendar months.
No — Pyongyang is dry-winter continental (Dwa) and Des Moines is hot-summer continental (Dfa), but the January and July numbers still align closely enough to pair.
Pyongyang has a dry-winter continental climate (Dwa). January averages a high of -1°C and a low of -11°C with 20 mm of rain; July averages 28°C / 20°C and 280 mm.
Pyongyang averages about 7.8 hours of sunshine a day in January and 8.5 hours in July.
January PM2.5 averages about 33.9 µg/m³ (US AQI 95); July averages 18.6 µg/m³ (US AQI 78).
Other close climate matches for Pyongyang: Saint Paul (loose), Madison (loose), Beijing (loose).
All dry-winter continental (Dwa) cities on Similar Climates →
Explore Pyongyang and Des Moines on the interactive map →