Sunbathers in Greenwich Park were startled as a dust devil – a twisting vortex of air and dust – swept across the parched grass, flinging blankets and sending dry leaves flying. Video shared on social media shows groups watching in awe as the cloud barreled through, with one X user captioning it: 'Toto, we’re not in Greenwich anymore…'
Another vortex seen in Kent
This isn’t the first dust devil to appear during the recent hot spell. A taller example was spotted hurtling through a bone-dry field north-east of Leeds Castle in Kent just a day earlier.
According to the Met Office, dust devils form when the ground has very little moisture and surface temperatures are high, creating strong updrafts that become visible when they suck up enough dust.
Dryest July on record
Last week, the Met Office announced that July was provisionally the driest on record for England and Wales, with statistics going back 190 years. Many parts of London saw no rainfall at all for the entire month, and the dry spell is unlikely to end soon.
Temperatures are expected to peak at 36°C for some in southern and central England on Thursday. However, the Met Office forecast that showers and 'longer spells of rain' may arrive next week as high pressure weakens.
