Climate Battle: Beijing vs Chicago (tornadoes, snow, hot, warm)

[Trimac20]

Let's leave pollution out of the comparison.

Beijing - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Chicago - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Both very similar examples of Humid Continental 'Dfa' climates under Koeppen. They are both similar in many respects:

Similiar temperatures in winter, with decently hot summers.

A definitely summer precipitation maximum

A large diurnal temperature range

Both are known for the occasional wintry, windy arctic blast

Similar climatic extremes


Some differences:

Beijing gets slightly more sunshine - about 2628 hours vs 2512 hours in Chicago. Beijing has sunnier winters but cloudier summers. Chicago's winters, while sunnier than say Buffalo, are still a fair bit cloudier than Beijing's.

Beijing probably maintains slightly more stable winter-time temperature conditions...whereas Chicago is more prone to climatic ups and downs. It's generally always cold in winter though.

Chicago has more blizzards and heavier snow in winter than Beijing. Beijing is actually very dry in winter so heavy snow is actually not that common.

Beijing has more torrential rainfall events in summer.

Somewhat related to climate, but Beijing gets dust-storms.

Beijing's summers are slightly more oppressive/humid than Chicago's in summer. Beijing summer nights are probably more similar to southern Illinois.

Chicago probably has more 'cold fronts' than Beijing, but is still generally reliably warm in the summer months.

Chicago is probably more prone to tornadoes than Beijing is, although the risk isn't that high.


I think it's close but Chicago for me. (A) if I'm going to get that kind of cold, snow would be prettier. Some might think it more inconvenient though.

(B) Beijing's summers can get a bit cloudy/wet...Chicago has a slightly more even annual rainfall pattern.

(C) The difference between average July temperatures and relative humidity would make Chicago a bit more comfortable.

[dunno what to put here]

Chicago, duh.

[Joe90]

Chicago for slightly cooler summers and much higher rainfall. I like the winter sunshine in Beijing though, and has a warmer spring/autumn. Both cities don't seem that bad for cold winter places. The diurnal range isn't that large, it's greater here.

[dunno what to put here]

Beijing is too dry in winter for me, hardly any snow as a result.

[LondonAreaWeatherSummary]

What about wind and humidity though?

[RWood]

Probably Chicago. It's hard to ignore pollution in either case though, especially with Beijing. When I spent a year in Chicago several decades ago I found the % sunshine reporting somewhat unconvincing as a lot of the sunlight was weakened by air pollution, especially in winter.

[deneb78]

I choose Beijing for warmer summers, springs and falls... and more sunshine and less snow in winter.

[dunno what to put here]

Pollution is far worse in Beijing.

[deneb78]

Originally Posted by dunno what to put here

Pollution is far worse in Beijing.

The OP said to leave pollution out of the comparison.

[dunno what to put here]

Kinda hard to leave pollution out of the comparison when said pollution can kill you