The Chinese capital has gone through an extremely wet June with the most rainy days in 15 years, according to the Beijing Meteorological Center (BMC).

According to a new report, rainfall in the Olympic host city last month was the heaviest since 1993 with 14 rainy days recorded, 4.3 more than the average.

The lengthy wet spell was influenced by a cold vortex from Mongolia that caused evening thundershowers for nine consecutive days, said BMC climate center director Guo Wenli.

"However, the rainy weather will come to an end as the cold vortex moves to the east from Wednesday. The temperature will come back to above 33 degrees Celsius."

Artificial rainfall also contributed to the continuous rain, according to Beijing Weather Modification Office officials. They had been working on rain enhancement from June 23, the beginning of the nine-day rainy period.

The continuous rain had eased the summer drought that had troubled Beijing and helped reduce air pollution.

The rain also increased pressure on the city's transport system. Air China alone delayed 500 flights last week due to unfavorable weather conditions, according to the company.

However, sunny days may not be long, as the city will again embrace thundershowers starting on Friday, experts said. Flights departing from and arriving at Beijing may continue to be influenced in the coming week.

(Xinhua News Agency July 3, 2008)