Many civilisations have weather gods or gods with weather powers. In trying to understand the forces of nature, humans have personified aspects of the weather. Weather gods and goddesses are often closely linked to local climate and its effects on seasons and growth. These gods have links with new life, the harvest or the non-growing season. Those seen to protect the harvest were worshipped in a range of cultures. For example, Lugh the Celtic sun god and protector of the harvest, Tlaloc the Aztec god of rain and agriculture, Satet the Egyptian goddess of the flooding Nile and fertility or Nikko-Bosatsu the Japanese Buddhist god of sunshine and good health.

In many African religions, the Rain God is considered the supreme god of the tribe. He is the Creator god bringing life to all that is lifeless and includes gods such as Chiuta the Rain god of the Tumbuka, Chuku the Supreme god of the Ibo peoples, Deng the Creator and Sky God of the Dinka tribe and Domfe the Kurumba god of rain, water and wind.

Thunder and lightning often mark out important gods and are seen in many cultures. Zeus, Greek god of the sky and thunder, and ruler of the Olympians, or Tinia the Etruscan supreme god of the sky whose symbols include a cluster of lightning bolts, are good examples. Raiden, the Japanese god of thunder and lightning is pictured as a red demon with sharp claws and carrying a large drum. Indra is the Hindu supreme god and lord of thunder and lightning in Vedic myths. He wields his weapon, a lightning bolt, to protect the gods and humans from the forces of evil.

Sun gods are seen too across many religions - in Egyptian, Aztec and Inca, Hindu, Chinese and Japanese religions amongst others, the Sun god has many incarnations and is often the personification of the Sun. Re the most important of the gods in Egypt travelled in a sun boat across the sky each day. Inti the Inca Sun god is portrayed as a shining golden disc with a human face.

The Ancient Greeks had captured wind gods whose custodian Aeolus loosed as breezes, gales, or other forces decreed by the gods. In Japan, where typhoons are experienced, the wind gods are more terrifying and more numerous. Fujin, the Japanese Shinto god of the wind is seen as an horrific dark demon in a leopard skin with a bag of winds over his shoulder and there is also a Japanese god of the whirlwind, Haya-Ji. Even worse is Kami-kaze the god of wind, storms and viscous cold weather whose name, meaning "divine wind" was given to suicidal bomber missions faced by pilots during the second world war.

It is often thought that gods or deities can be appeased through ritual and festivals and many of our modern day celebrations and sayings have their roots in these early beliefs. Across the world, there are still many festivals in honour of all sorts of weather gods. Prayers and offerings try to guarantee what weather forecasters cannot!