It does rain more in some Dutch cities than in the surrounding countryside, according to international research which looks at the way cities attract rain clouds.

More rain falls in Breda, The Hague, Amsterdam and Almere, but not in Arnhem and Den Bosch the research, quoted by the Volkskrant, showed.

Researchers at the University of Texas analysed the effect of cities on rainfall and found that in Europe two in three cities have more rain than rural areas next door. As cities grow, they attract an increasing volume of rain, and the attraction has doubled in the last 20 years, the researchers said.

French research has also indicated that heavy showers are more concentrated around cities and Dutch weather bureau KNMI published similar findings two years ago. Pollution plays a role, the KNMI said, because it can encourage cloud formation.