New Delhi, May 12
India’s weathermen have predicted that the forthcoming India-Bangladesh test matches in Chittagong and Dhaka are likely to face major interruptions due to rains and thunderstorm activity over Bangladesh during this period.

And to ensure that rain does not interrupt play, there would soon be a permanent consultative mechanism between the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) and the India Meteorological Department (IMD) for exchange of weather inputs before planning a series in the future.

Minister of Earth Sciences Kapil Sibal said he wrote to BCCI chief Sharad Pawar, suggesting a permanent mechanism between BCCI and IMD for taking inputs regarding weather conditions, including precipitation and humidity, while planning ODIs and test matches.

“Our predictions of light rains during the May 10 and today’s ODI have come right. This morning, Mr Pawar wrote back saying the BCCI would be interested in such a tie-up with the Met office. We plan to get the process rolling soon,” Sibal said, adding that the mechanism could be extended to other outdoor sports and activities.

“In the subcontinent, cricket is pure entertainment, for which people pay and plan well in advance. I think it is our duty to ensure that they get what they want. Moreover, the BCCI also gets to gain in terms of revenue collections. For the IMD, it can prove to be a good opportunity to become self-sustaining,” he said.

While monsoon normally hits Kerala in India and Bangladesh on June 1, this year it is expected to make an entry about a week earlier. In any case, during May, the climate of Bangladesh in general is quite warm and humid with more than 60 per cent probability of moderate to severe thunderstorm activity on most of the days. The normal expected rains for Dhaka and Chittagong during the month are 267 mm and 246 mm, respectively.

So what they are clearly worried about is the second half of the month. “It is expected that the two test matches, the May 18-22 test match in Chittagong and the May 25-29 test match in Dhaka, may face major interruptions as there would be a higher probability rains and thunderstorm activity over Bangladesh during this period,” Sibal said.

The past data clearly indicates that there is a good probability of outdoor sports events being disrupted by rain or thundershower in the second half of May and the probability of occurrence of weather events varies between 60 and 80 per cent during this period. But even during the period when rains do not occur, the weather is expected to be warm and humid with high moisture content in the atmosphere, not conducive for the players.

Observations during the past few days have shown that intermittent rains, accompanied by thundershowers, are continuing in Bangladesh. While the May 10 ODI was interrupted by light rain, the second ODI today also didn’t remain unaffected. Weathermen now expect the May-15 ODI to also get somewhat interrupted due to light rains along with thundershower activity.