File:Beijing average annual temperatures 1970 to 2019.jpg|thumb|440x400px|Beijing average annual temperatures from 1970 to 2019 during summer (June, July, and August) and winter (December, January, and February).  Weather station data from  ftp.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/noaa/.  For comparison the Global Surface Temperature Anomaly rose by approximately one degree over the same time period.|alt=|left Beijing has a monsoon-influenced humid continental climate (Köppen: ''Dwa''), characterized by hot, humid summers due to the East Asian monsoon, and brief but cold, dry winters that reflect the influence of the vast Siberian anticyclone. Spring can bear witness to sandstorms blowing in from the Gobi Desert across the Mongolian steppe, accompanied by rapidly warming, but generally dry, conditions. Autumn, similar to spring, is a season of transition and minimal precipitation. The monthly daily average temperature in January is , while in July it is . Precipitation averages around  annually, with close to three-quarters of that total falling from June to August. With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 47% in July to 65% in January and February, the city receives 2,671 hours of bright sunshine annually. Extremes since 1951 have ranged from  on 22 February 1966 to  on 24 July 1999 (unofficial record of  was set on 15 June 1942).