A “dust devil” has been caught on camera tearing through Greenwich Park, sending terrified Britons fleeing.
The whirlwind, known as a “dust devil”, swept across the south London park on Sunday as families and tourists enjoyed the weekend sunshine.
Footage shows the swirling column of air appearing suddenly, gathering dust and leaves as it moved across the park’s dried-out ground.
The vortex gained pace as it approached groups of picnickers enjoying the sunshine.
People were seen fleeing as they became engulfed in a thick cloud of dust and debris.
Onlookers compared the scene to something from The Wizard of Oz, with several joking online that Greenwich had been turned into a desert.
The clip of the Greenwich incident quickly gathered thousands of views online.
Many viewers expressed astonishment at the scale of the vortex.
One commenter on social media wrote: “Next we’ll be seeing tumbleweeds.”
Another said their “contact lenses have dried up” just from watching the clip.
Despite its dramatic appearance, the whirlwind is not an actual tornado.
It is also known as a “willy willy” and is considerably weaker than a true tornado.
The hot weather being felt across the UK have turned Britain’s parks into deserts
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PA
The phenomenon forms when intense heat causes hot air near the ground to rise rapidly.
According to the Met Office, these vortices can vary significantly in height, with some stretching more than 1,000ft into the sky.
The base of a dust devil is typically only a few metres wide, often narrowing through the middle before widening again higher up.
The phenomenon is most commonly associated with deserts and semi-arid regions.
London’s prolonged dry spell has created near-identical conditions in recent weeks.
The parched conditions seen across the capital have made such sightings far more likely than usual.
The incident comes as the Met Office issued a rare extreme heat warning, with temperatures expected to hit as high as 36C.
It marks the fifth heatwave of the year to hit the UK.
The dry spell follows what is understood to be London’s driest July on record, with the capital seeing no significant rainfall since June 29.
Greenwich is not the only London park to experience the phenomenon recently, with similar dust devils also being reported in Hyde Park and Tooting Bec.
Social media users noted that sightings appeared to be becoming more frequent as the heatwave continues.
While dust devils can look alarming, they are generally short-lived and far less dangerous than genuine tornadoes.