In this week’s Skymet Podcast, AVM (Retd.) G.P. Sharma, President of Meteorology & Climate Change at Skymet, shares insights as the Southwest Monsoon 2025 approaches its final phase. Recently, active systems over both the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea have drawn the attention of meteorologists — especially Cyclone Shakti, the first major storm of the season, which followed an unusual and unpredictable track. The episode explores how this system originated near Gujarat, moved across the Arabian Sea, and why some global agencies classified it as a cyclone while India’s weather agency did not. Tune in to understand how tropical cyclones form, the role of Sea Surface Temperatures (SSTs), and why storms over the Arabian Sea rarely impact Indian coastlines. The discussion also highlights the early signs of the Northeast Monsoon’s arrival.