Daegu, South Korea's fourth-largest city, sits in a basin ringed by mountains in the southeast of the country, inland from the coast at approximately 35.87°N, 128.60°E. Its enclosed inland setting gives it a monsoon-influenced humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cwa/Dwa) — with famously hot summers and cold, dry winters — and it is known as the hottest city in Korea.

Summer, from June to August, is hot and humid, with August the warmest month — average highs around 31–32°C and heatwaves that regularly exceed 36–38°C — because the mountain-ringed basin traps hot, still air with little breeze, making Daegu consistently the hottest of Korea's large cities. The changma rains fall in late June and July, and typhoons can strike in late summer.

Winter, from December to February, is cold and dry, with January the coldest month — average highs around 5°C and lows near -4°C, milder than Seoul thanks to its southerly, sheltered position. The dry Siberian monsoon brings clear, sunny, cold days, and snowfall is light and infrequent in the sheltered basin.

Daegu is relatively dry for Korea, receiving around 1,000–1,100 mm of precipitation a year, sheltered by mountains on all sides, with the great majority falling in the summer monsoon from June to September, while winter is very dry. Live rainfall, humidity, and pressure readings for the city are shown in the panels above.

Daegu's mountain-ringed basin traps summer heat so effectively that the city is nicknamed Korea's 'Daefrica' for its sweltering summers, routinely recording the country's highest temperatures. The same sheltering ranges keep it drier than the rest of South Korea and spare it the heaviest snow, giving it milder, sunnier winters than Seoul.

To follow any single measurement in Daegu more closely, use our live instruments: the online barometer for atmospheric pressure, the thermometer for temperature, the hygrometer for humidity, the anemometer for wind speed, the wind vane for wind direction, and the rain gauge for rainfall.