LOCATION · South Korea
Seoul Weather Radar & Live Monsoon, Cold & Dust Map
Is it the monsoon rain, the Siberian cold, or the yellow dust that's the issue in Seoul today?
Seoul runs through a full cycle of weather hazards over the course of a year, and they could hardly be more different from one another. Summer brings the Jangma monsoon and its floods; winter brings biting cold sweeping down from Siberia; and spring brings the yellow dust that blows in from the deserts of the Asian interior. Each season hands the city a different challenge, and knowing which one is in play — and which layer to watch — is exactly what the live map helps with.
Summer: the Jangma rains
Korea's summer is defined by the Jangma, the East Asian monsoon's rainy phase. Around late June, a rain front stalls over the peninsula and brings weeks of heavy, persistent rain, often in concentrated bursts. For Seoul, this is the main flood season: intense downpours can overwhelm drainage, swell the rivers that run through the metropolis and inundate low-lying districts. Some Jangma seasons have delivered record-breaking rainfall and caused serious flooding in the capital, which is why the radar is the layer to watch closely through midsummer.
Winter: the Siberian cold
Come winter, the threat flips to the opposite extreme. Seoul lies in the path of frigid air masses that build over Siberia and sweep down across the peninsula. When these cold outbreaks arrive, temperatures can plunge well below freezing, in a rhythm Koreans describe as "three cold, four warm" — a few brutally cold days followed by a milder spell, repeating through the season. The cold is dry and biting, and a severe outbreak is a real hazard, straining heating and endangering anyone exposed.
Spring: the yellow dust
Seoul's most distinctive seasonal hazard arrives on the spring wind. Yellow dust — known locally as hwangsa — is fine sand and dust lifted from the deserts of Mongolia and northern China and carried east across Korea. It can fill the sky with a hazy yellow-brown pall, cut visibility, and push air quality into unhealthy ranges, sometimes picking up industrial pollutants along its journey. Layered on top of local fine-dust pollution, it makes air quality one of the most-watched numbers in the city each spring. It's the same basic story as other long-range dust events — desert particles, lifted and carried far downwind — covered in the dust-storm guide.
Reading it on the live map
Seoul's hazards rotate through the calendar, so the key layer rotates too:
- In summer, watch the rain. Turn on Radar to track the Jangma front and see where the heaviest rain and flood risk are concentrated.
- In winter, watch the cold. Switch to Temperature to follow the Siberian outbreaks sweeping down the peninsula.
- In spring, watch the dust. Add the Smoke & Dust (aerosol) layer to see yellow dust drifting in from the deserts and how much it's degrading the air.
- Connect the threads. The dust-storm and air-quality guides explain the hwangsa, and the polar-vortex guide covers the kind of cold-air outbreaks that reach Korea.
Radar tells you when the rain is the threat, temperature tells you when the cold is, and the dust layer tells you when the air is the problem. In a city that cycles through three distinct dangers across the year, reading the right layer for the season is how you stay ahead of the sky.
Frequently asked questions
What is the 'Jangma' monsoon in Seoul?
Jangma is Korea's summer rainy season, typically arriving around late June and lasting into July, when a stalled rain front parks over the peninsula and brings weeks of heavy, persistent rain. It's the city's main flood risk — intense downpours can overwhelm drainage, swell rivers and flood low-lying areas. Some Jangma seasons have produced record-breaking rainfall and serious flooding in the capital.
Why does Seoul get so cold in winter?
Seoul sits at a latitude exposed to frigid air masses sweeping down from Siberia. When those cold outbreaks arrive, temperatures can plunge well below freezing, often in a distinctive pattern Koreans call 'three cold, four warm' — a few bitterly cold days followed by milder ones, cycling through the winter. The cold is dry and biting, and severe outbreaks are a genuine winter hazard.
What is 'yellow dust'?
Yellow dust, or hwangsa, is fine sand and dust carried to Korea on the wind from the deserts of Mongolia and northern China, most often in spring. It can fill the sky with a hazy yellow-brown veil, cut visibility and push air quality into unhealthy ranges — and it sometimes mixes with industrial pollution along the way. Combined with local fine-dust pollution, air quality is one of Seoul's most closely watched numbers.
How do I read Seoul's weather on the map?
The key layer changes with the season. In summer, turn on Radar to track the Jangma rain front and flood risk. In winter, watch Temperature for Siberian cold outbreaks. In spring, use the Smoke & Dust (aerosol) layer to see yellow dust blowing in from the deserts. Seoul's hazards rotate through the year, so the layer that matters most rotates with them.
SEE IT LIVE
Everything in this guide is on one real-time map.