The China Daily reports that analysis of the weather from 1975 to 2007 shows that the chance of rain during the opening ceremony at the Beijing Olympics is 41 per cent.

Earlier studies have predicted the chance of rain at around 50 per cent.

“Thunderstorms, heavy rain, high temperatures, muggy skies and even hailstorms could be a problem,” said Chen, who is also director of the Olympic Weather Service Center.

They are also considering trying to modify the weather artificially by using planes and rockets to “spread silver iodine and dry ice high into the atmosphere to target cumulonimbus clouds and induce rain before the clouds veer toward the Olympic venues.”

Although, they have admitted that the technology can only hold off light showers