So-called ‘dust devils’ may be most familiar to people from old Western movies, where a twisting cloud of sand disturbs the eerie silence before a gunfight.
But in sun-baked London, the phenomenon can be seen in places bearing little resemblance to the deserts of California and Nevada.
Punters enjoying a sunbathe in Greenwich Park over the weekend were surprised to see the vortex winding its way across the rain-starved grass.
Several groups stood in amazement as the large cloud flung up their blankets and sent dry leaves flying in their direction.
One X user shared the video and added the caption: ‘Toto, we’re not in Greenwich anymore…’
It isn’t the first dust devil to appear in England over the latest bout of roasting weather.
A taller example of the dusty vortex could be seen north-east of Leeds Castle in Kent yesterday, hurtling through a bone-dry field.
According to the Met Office, they develop when the ground has very little moisture and surface temperatures are high.
This produces strong updrafts, which are usually invisible but show up when they suck up enough dust.
Last week, the Met Office announced that last month was provisionally the driest July ever recorded for England and Wales – with statistics stretching back 190 years.
Many parts of London did not see any rainfall at all for the entire month.
It is looking unlikely that the extraordinarily dry spell will come to an end anytime soon.
Temperatures are likely to peak at 36°C for some in southern and central England on Thursday.
The meteorological body forecast that showers and some ‘longer spells of rain’ may happen next week as high pressure begins to weaken.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
MORE: Met Office eyeing up rare extreme heat warning ahead of 36°C temperatures
MORE: ‘We live next to Twickenham stadium – more megastar gigs will be a nightmare’
MORE: A new 24/7 cafe for ‘very ambitious people’ has landed in London — it sounds dystopian