Cyclone Shakhti: IMD says Severe Cyclonic Storm likely to weaken from Oct 6; rain alert for parts of Maharashtra

Cyclone Shakhti Live Updates: In a post on X at around 10:30 pm on Saturday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said Severe Cyclonic Storm (SCS) “Shakhti” over northwest Arabian Sea moved west-southwestwards with a speed of 15 kmph during last six hours and lay centered at over the same region near latitude 21.5°N and longitude 63.0°E, about 340 km east-southeast of Ras Al Hadd (Oman) at 8:30 pm.

IMD said it is likely to move west-southwestwards and reach northwest and adjoining westcentral Arabian Sea by October 5. “Thereafter, it will recurve and move east-northeastwards from morning of 6th October 2025 and weaken gradually,” the IMD said on X.

Authorities in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district suspended Machail Mata pilgrimage for three days from October 5 following an inclement weather advisory issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), an official said on Saturday.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued cyclone 'Shakti' warning for some districts of Maharashtra, with high to moderate cyclone warning between October 3 and 7.

The IMD issued a weather alert for several districts in Tamil Nadu, including Chennai, due to a cyclonic circulation that is expected to bring moderate to heavy rainfall on Saturday.

The districts under warning for heavy rain include Chennai, Tiruvallur, Chengalpattu, Kanchipuram, Ranipet, Vellore, Tirupattur, Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri, Ariyalur, Cuddalore, Villupuram, Perambalur, Thanjavur, Nagapattinam, Tiruvarur, Pudukkottai, Kallakurichi, Salem, and Tiruvannamalai.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast that a well-marked low-pressure area will bring heavy to very heavy rainfall in sub-Himalayan West Bengal till Monday.

Issuing a red warning for the sub-Himalayan districts of Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri, and Alipurduar, it stated that one or two places in these districts are likely to receive extremely heavy rainfall until Sunday morning, which will continue in Alipurduar until Monday morning.

Thunderstorm with rain is likely in Delhi on Sunday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted.

On Saturday, Delhi recorded a maximum temperature of 34 degrees Celsius, 0.7 degrees Celsius below the season's average. The minimum temperature settled at 24.6 degrees Celsius, 2.3 degrees above the season's average, the IMD said.

It is likely to move west-southwestwards and reach the northwest and adjoining west-central Arabian Sea by Sunday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said, adding that Shakhti will recurve and move east-northeastwards from Monday morning, weakening gradually.

Cyclone Shakhti, the first cyclonic storm of the post-monsoon season in the Arabian Sea, is churning up the sea, packing a wind speed of 100 kmph and gusting, officials said on Saturday.

Shakhti, which has intensified into a severe cyclonic storm, was moving further into the Arabian Sea and lay centred about 420 km away from Dwarka in Gujarat, the weather office said.

The weather office has warned that sea conditions are very likely to be rough to very rough along and off the Gujarat-north Maharashtra coast and Pakistan coast till Sunday.

Cyclone Shakhti, the first cyclonic storm of the post-monsoon season in the Arabian Sea, is churning up the sea, packing a wind speed of 100 kmph and gusting, officials said on Saturday.

Abhimanyu Chauhan from IMD, Ahmedabad has predicted the weather in Gujarat due to Cyclone Shakthi.
"Cyclone Shakthi will recurve on October 6 morning moving towards East-Northeast direction. However, there is no need to panic as the impact over Gujarat will be minimal. On October 8, there will be heavy rainfall in some parts of Gujarat - Dwarka, Jamnagar, Porbandar, Surat, Navsari, Valsad, Daman, and Dadra Nagar Haveli," he told the media.

According to the release by the India Meteorological Department, the alert covers Mumbai, Thane, Palghar, Raigad, Ratnagiri, and Sindhudurg. The wind speed, which is expected to reach 45-55 kmph, is likely to prevail over the North Maharashtra coast between October 3 and 5

Several areas in interior Maharashtra are under alert for heavy to very heavy rains, particularly parts of Marathwada and East Vidarbha. In view of this, the state government has instructed for preparations in response to the Cyclone ‘Shakhti’ warning.

The Maharashtra govt has directed the district administrations to activate their disaster management systems, prepare evacuation plans for citizens in coastal and low-lying areas, issue public advisories, advise against sea travel, and maintain safety during heavy rains.

The severe cyclonic storm ‘Shakhti’ was named by Sri Lanka, according to the convention followed by the WMO/ESCAP Panel on Tropical Cyclones, PTI reported. The names of the cyclones are suggested by 13 countries in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea region.

The sea conditions will be rough to very rough along and off the Gujarat-North Maharashtra coast and the Pakistan coast until Sunday, owing to the influence of Cyclone ‘Shakhti’.

Cyclone ‘Shakhti’ is likely to move west-southwestwards to reach the northwest and adjoining west-central Arabian Sea by Sunday, the IMD said. It added that the cyclonic storm would then recurve and move east-northeastwards from Monday morning, and would gradually weaken.

In view of rough conditions, the weather office has warned fishermen against venturing into the northwest Arabian Sea, adjoining areas of the northeast Arabian Sea, central Arabian Sea and along and off the Gujarat-north Maharashtra coasts until Tuesday, PTI reported.

As of Saturday morning, Cyclone ‘Shakhti’ had intensified into a severe cyclonic storm and was moving further into the Arabian Sea. It lay centred about 420 km away from Dwarka in Gujarat, according to the weather office.