Two dust devils were captured on camera near the Hong Kong airport Wednesday afternoon.
The Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) shared a time-lapse video of the rare sighting on Facebook, which shows dust devils forming one after another at a construction site in Chek Lap Kok around 2 pm.
The first dust whirl lasted approximately two minutes before disappearing. About 30 seconds after, a second, shorter spiral was spotted and lasted about a minute.
The dust pillars were approximately 60 to 70 meters tall, Sing Tao reported.
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According to the HKO, dust devils occur when intense heat from the sun causes instability in the air near the ground, leading to the formation of a tornado-like column of dust.
The temperature recorded at Chek Lap Kok around the time of the dust devils’ appearance was over 34 degrees Celsius.
Last September, a small tornado that lasted about 20 minutes was sighted near the airport. No injuries were reported.
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