Twenty silver-iodide missiles were fired over the weekend in Beijing to alleviate the dry spells that have lasted for years.

According to the Beijing Morning News published on Monday, the rainmaking effort started on Saturday evening brought moderate rain mainly in four districts of Beijing, namely the Changping, Yanqing, Pinggu and Haidian, all in northern Beijing, with a maximum precipitation of 41 millimeters.

Zhou Xiaoping, a noted expert with the Beijing Special Meteorology Office, said that the artificial rainfall will help plants grow, increase the level in reservoirs and add water to the barren soil.

Although it has rained much more frequently this year, the precipitation in Beijing remains below average, he said.

The rainmaking efforts helped bring the temperature below the predicted 32 degrees Celsius which would otherwise have continued for another two days, forcing gardeners to water plants, Zhou said.

More artificial rainfall projects can be expected in the next few days, according to the local weather control office.

(Xinhua News Agency July 7, 2003)