Cyclone Shakhti: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast that Cyclone Shakhti will begin to weaken gradually from Monday morning. The system is expected to recurve and move towards the east. As of Sunday, the cyclone is likely to continue its west-southwestward movement and reach the northwest and adjoining west-central Arabian Sea by evening.
Even though parts of Maharashtra, including Mumbai, were initially put on alert for heavy rainfall due to Cyclone Shakthi, the IMD on Sunday revised its forecast and reduced the severity of rain predictions for Mumbai and nearby regions.
It is likely to move west-southwestwards and reach northwest and adjoining westcentral
Arabian Sea by evening of today, the 5th October. Thereafter, it will recurve and move nearly
eastwards from morning of 6th October 2025 and weaken gradually. pic.twitter.com/FD9XcWDtbn— India Meteorological Department (@Indiametdept) October 4, 2025
Previously, the IMD warned that Cyclone Shakhti has become a “severe” storm as of Saturday. The department also warned of thunderstorms and lightning in several areas. According to its five-day forecast, Mumbai is expected to get only light and scattered rain until October 8. Similar conditions are predicted for Thane and Raigad, while Palghar district may experience heavy rainfall on October 8.
The IMD has warned of rough to very rough sea conditions and strong winds reaching speeds of 45–55 kmph, gusting up to 65 kmph, along the Gujarat-Maharashtra coast till Tuesday. Winds may even reach up to 100 kmph until Monday. Fishermen have been advised not to venture into the northwest Arabian Sea during this period.
‘No reason to panic,’ says IMD Ahmedabad
“Cyclone Shakthi is expected to change its path on the morning of October 6 and move towards the east-northeast. There is no reason to panic, as Gujarat will experience only a minimal impact. However, on October 8, some areas – including Dwarka, Jamnagar, Porbandar, Surat, Navsari, Valsad, Daman and Dadra Nagar Haveli, may witness heavy rainfall,” Abhimanyu Chauhan from IMD Ahmedabad told news agency PTI.
VIDEO | Cyclone Shakhti: Abhimanyu Chauhan, IMD, Ahmedabad, says, "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… pic.twitter.com/fDmyPcQF7e
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) October 4, 2025
State government steps up precautions
The Maharashtra government has directed all district authorities to stay alert and activate disaster management systems. They have been asked to prepare evacuation plans for people living in low-lying and coastal areas, issue safety advisories, and discourage sea travel until conditions improve.
District collectors from Saurashtra, who were attending a national conference on land administration and disaster management in Gandhinagar, returned to their districts on Saturday evening after IMD’s cyclone warning. The state has also cancelled Sunday leave for Collectorate staff to ensure round-the-clock monitoring and quick response.
Cyclone Shakhti’s predicted path
As per IMD’s latest update, Cyclone Shakhti was moving west-southwest at about 15 kmph over the northwest Arabian Sea and was located more than 500 km from the coastline.
The storm is expected to continue in that direction till Sunday before curving east-northeastwards and gradually weakening from Monday. The cyclone is unlikely to make landfall in Gujarat, according to current predictions.
Origin of the name ‘Shakhti’
The cyclone has been named ‘Shakhti’, a name suggested by Sri Lanka following the naming system set by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and the ESCAP Panel on Tropical Cyclones.
Cyclone names in this region are chosen from a list submitted by 13 countries bordering the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea.