Overview
- Video from Greenwich Park over the weekend shows a dust devil sweeping across dry grass, lifting dust and picnic blankets and sending people running.
- Similar short‑lived vortices have been filmed in Kent, Suffolk, Northamptonshire and other London parks including Hyde Park and Tooting Bec.
- The Met Office says dust devils form from strong surface heating that creates rising columns of air that spin up loose dust and debris from parched ground.
- No major injuries have been reported in the UK incidents, but experts urge people to move away from visible whirlwinds and to cover eyes, mouth and ears if caught.
- Forecasters link the phenomenon to an ongoing heatwave, rare extreme‑heat warnings and a provisionally record‑dry July, and warn that more frequent heatwaves could increase future sightings.