Cyclone Shakhti intensifies into a severe cyclonic storm

Cyclonic Storm Shakhti formed at around 18:00 UTC on October 3 as the first named storm of the 2025 North Indian Ocean Cyclone season. By 00:00 UTC on October 4, it intensified into a Severe Cyclonic storm.

At 06:00 UTC on October 4, the center of Shakhti was located around 510 km (317 miles) west of Dwarka, Gujarat, India, around 450 km (280 miles) southwest of Karachi, Pakistan, and 570 km (354 miles) east-northeast of Masirah, Oman, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

Maximum sustained winds were reaching 92 km/h (57 mph) with gusts of up to 110 km/h (68 mph). The system was moving westward at 13 km/h (8 mph), with an estimated minimum central pressure of 992 hPa.

Shakthi is forecast to strengthen further as it moves west-southwestwards and reach the northwest and west-central Arabian Sea by October 5. It is then expected to take a turn to the east-northeast by October 6, after which it will begin to weaken.

The Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) designated the system as Tropical Cyclone 02A. According to their 09:00 UTC bulletin today, the system was located roughly 430 km (267 miles) southwest of Karachi and was moving west-southwestward at 11 km/h (7 mph).

The storm is expected to continue moving west-southwest over the next 36 hours, guided by a steering ridge to its north and east. By the next 48 hours, it is expected to turn east-southeast and continue to weaken before dissipating within the next 72 hours.

Authorities have advised fishermen not to venture out into the seas due to the stormy weather, and observed wave heights reaching 5.5 m (18 feet).

¹ Prognostic Reasoning for Tropical Cyclone 02A (Shakhti) warning nr 006 – JTWC – October 3, 2025

² Tropical Cyclone Advisory no. 9 – IMD – October 4, 2025

Rishav Kothari

Rishav Kothari is Editor-in-Chief of The Watchers, where he runs the newsroom and covers earthquakes, volcanoes, severe weather and space weather.

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