Precipitation in the Tarim Basin is extremely scant, and in some years it is nonexistent. In the Taklamakan Desert and in the Lop Nur basin, the average annual total of precipitation is about . In the foothills and in several other areas of the river's basin, the precipitation amounts to from a year. In the Tian Shan it is much wetter, precipitation often exceeding . Maximum temperatures in the Tarim Basin are about 40 °C (104 °F). The Tarim River freezes over every year from December through March.