Cyclone Shakti Alert! IMD Confirms Formation Of 1st Cyclonic Storm Of 2025 Over Arabian Sea

Cyclone Shakthi: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has confirmed the intensification of deep depression into a cyclonic storm over North Arabian Sea. It will move west-southwestwards and intensify further into a severe cyclonic storm in the next 24 hrs.

Earlier the IMD had notified that a deep depression over the northeast Arabian Sea is moving west-northwest at a speed of 12 kmph, according to the latest update issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD). As of 8.30 a.m. IST on October 3, the system was centred about 240 km west-southwest of Dwarka and 270 km west of Porbandar.

The depression is expected to move west-northwest and intensify into a cyclonic storm within the next 3 hours. It may then shift nearly westward initially, and later west-southwest, strengthening further into a severe cyclonic storm over the next 24 hours.

As per the WMO cyclone names, it was going to be called as “Cyclone Shakhti (pronounced as Shakti)”.

INSAT-3D satellite imagery shows a vortex over the northeast Arabian Sea. Scattered to broken low and medium clouds with embedded intense to very intense convection are observed over the northern and adjoining central Arabian Sea, as well as the Kutch region and Gulf of Kutch.

Earlier, IMD posted the update on X (formerly Twitter) informing about the possible path of the upcoming Cyclone Shakthi.

Most numerical weather prediction (NWP) models indicate a deep depression over the northeast Arabian Sea is likely to move in a loop over the northeast and adjoining northwest Arabian Sea, intensifying further into a severe cyclonic storm, according to IMD.

The name “Shakhti (pronounced as Shakti)” follows a regional naming system established in 2004 for cyclones in the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea, managed by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).

The name “Shakhti” was suggested by Sri Lanka as part of this system. The word "Shakhti" is an ancient, rich Tamil word that stands for "power".

The eight countries bordering the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea – Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Thailand – suggest names for cyclones, which are listed sequentially.

The names must be neutral concerning gender, politics, religion, and culture, and they follow alphabetical order. Each name can have up to eight letters and must not be offensive. Once used, a name is never repeated.

In 2020, a new list of 169 names was introduced, with 13 names from each of the 13 participating countries.

Check the possible route and path that the cyclonic storm will take in the next few days.

*Click on the play button to visualise the path of Cyclone Shakti for the next few days.

Cyclone live tracking provided by windy.com.

*If the above map is not visible, then click on this windy map link here to check the live tracking of Cyclone Shakti.

The IMD issued warnings for strong winds and rough seas over the Arabian Sea. Squally winds of 55-65 kmph, gusting up to 75 kmph, are prevailing over the Arabian Sea. These winds are expected to intensify to 75-85 kmph, gusting to 95 kmph, from 5.30 p.m. IST on October 3, and further increase to 100-110 kmph, gusting up to 125 kmph, from the evening of October 4 until 8.30 a.m. IST on October 6.

Over the central Arabian Sea, winds of 55-65 kmph, gusting up to 75 kmph, are likely to prevail until 2.30 p.m. IST on October 3, increasing to 65-75 kmph by until 2:30 pm on October 4. This would further intensify to 100-110 kmph from 5:30 pm IST on October 4 to 5:30 pm on October 5. Along and off the Gujarat-north Maharashtra coast, squally winds of 45-55 kmph are expected to continue from October 3 to 5.

Sea conditions are expected to be very rough to high over the northeast Arabian Sea and adjoining northwest Arabian Sea until the afternoon of October 3. Conditions will worsen to high to very high over the northwest and adjoining northeast Arabian Sea from October 4 to 6.

The IMD has advised fishermen not to venture into the Arabian Sea between October 3 and 6.

The deep depression over interior south Odisha has weakened into a depression and is moving north-northwest at a speed of 10 kmph, according to the IMD. The depression is expected to continue moving across interior Odisha and gradually weaken into a well-marked low-pressure area within the next 12 hours.