Climate
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The city's climate is a rather dry, monsoon-influenced humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dwa), characterised by hot, humid summers due to the East Asian monsoon, and generally cold, windy, dry winters that reflect the influence of the vast Siberian anticyclone. Yet during the winter, winds from the northwest must cross the mountains that shield the city, keeping the city warmer than locations of similar latitude in China. Spring can bear witness to sandstorms blowing in from the Mongolian steppe, accompanied by rapidly warming, but generally dry, conditions. Autumn, like spring, sees little rain but is crisp and short. January averages −3.7 °C (25.3 °F), while July averages 26.2 °C (79.2 °F). Annual precipitation is around 570 millimetres (22.4 in), falling mostly in the summer months. Extremes have ranged from −27.4 to 42.6 °C (-17 to 109 °F). In 2005, the total precipitation was 410.77 millimetres (16.17 in), a majority of which occurred in the summer.
| Climate data for Beijing (1971–2000) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 1.8 (35.2) |
5.0 (41.0) |
11.6 (52.9) |
20.3 (68.5) |
26.0 (78.8) |
30.2 (86.4) |
30.9 (87.6) |
29.7 (85.5) |
25.8 (78.4) |
19.1 (66.4) |
10.1 (50.2) |
3.7 (38.7) |
17.9 (64.2) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −8.4 (16.9) |
−5.6 (21.9) |
0.4 (32.7) |
7.9 (46.2) |
13.6 (56.5) |
18.8 (65.8) |
22.0 (71.6) |
20.8 (69.4) |
14.8 (58.6) |
7.9 (46.2) |
0.0 (32.0) |
−5.8 (21.6) |
7.2 (45.0) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 2.7 (0.106) |
4.9 (0.193) |
8.3 (0.327) |
21.2 (0.835) |
34.2 (1.346) |
78.1 (3.075) |
185.2 (7.291) |
159.7 (6.287) |
45.5 (1.791) |
21.8 (0.858) |
7.4 (0.291) |
2.8 (0.11) |
571.8 (22.512) |
| % humidity | 44 | 44 | 46 | 46 | 53 | 61 | 75 | 77 | 68 | 61 | 57 | 49 | 56.8 |
| Avg. precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) | 1.8 | 2.3 | 3.3 | 4.3 | 5.8 | 9.7 | 13.6 | 12.0 | 7.6 | 5.0 | 3.5 | 1.7 | 70.6 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 194.1 | 194.7 | 231.8 | 251.9 | 283.4 | 261.4 | 212.4 | 220.9 | 232.1 | 222.1 | 185.3 | 180.7 | 2,670.8 |
| Source: China Meteorological Administration | |||||||||||||
Read more about this topic: Geography Of Beijing
Famous quotes containing the word climate:
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—Elizabeth Bowen (1899–1973)
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—Walter Lippmann (1889–1974)
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—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)