The opening ceremony of the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai is to kick off at the Expo Park on Friday night in good weather, local meteorological authorities said.

The weather during the daytime Friday, under the control of high atmospheric pressure, will continue to be clear with enough sunshine and a maximum temperature of 25 degrees Celsius in the downtown, according to the Shanghai Meteorological Bureau.

The weather at night when the Expo's opening ceremony kicks off with a grand display of fireworks will also be good but the temperature is going to drop sharply, according to the bureau.

On the first opening day of the Expo Park on Saturday, the weather will be cloudy and suitable for outdoor trips, according to the bureau.

Tang Xu, the bureau's director, said Thursday that Shanghai did not need to adopt artificial weather interventions to clear the sky for the opening ceremony.

Visitors can find out the latest weather information at the Expo Park on the website of www.expoweather.com. Customized advices to visitors from different parts of the world are also provided online, according to the bureau.

(Xinhua News Agency April 30, 2010)