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 yesterday, the rainmaking effort, launched on Saturday evening, brought moderate rain mainly in the city's four northern districts with a maximum precipitation of 41 millimeters. Zhou Xiaoping with the Beijing Special Meteorology Office, said the rainmaking efforts helped bring the temperature below the 32 degrees Celsius which would otherwise have continued for another two days.