Towering ‘tsunami roll cloud’ rapidly advances over the beach in a terrifying manner

01 July 2025 , 13:10

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Towering ‘tsunami roll cloud’ rapidly advances over the beach in a terrifying manner

Europe is in the grips of a deadly heatwave as temperatures continue to soar. Parts of Spain and Portugal recorded temperatures of 46°C.

In Italy, a 47-year-old man died after falling ill on a construction site, and a 70-year-old man drowned during a flash flood at a resort near Turin.

The intense weather has also caused unique weather phenomena – in Portugal, a ‘roll cloud’ went viral after footage of the cloud was shared online.

The cloud appeared like a wave crashing in the sky, with beachgoers looking up as the sky suddenly turned dark.

The formation is more common in Australia and happens when cold air comes in contact with high temperatures.

The tube-shaped clouds roll horizontally, mimicking the curl of an ocean wave – they may look concerning, but the clouds are more of an optical delight than a danger.

Elsewhere in Europe, wildfires have raged in Turkey, displacing tens of thousands of people in Izmir.

In France, temperatures are expected to peak on Tuesday, as Paris issued a rare red alert and shut thousands of public schools due to the deadly heat.

Greece has also been hit hard. Temperatures in Athens have led several coastal villages near the capital to issue evacuation orders due to fire risk.

Some regions in Italy have issued a ban on outdoor work, such as construction sites and gardening, during the hottest hours of the day.

‘Extreme heat is no longer a rare event – it has become the new normal,’ UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres tweeted from Seville, Spain, where temperatures hit 42C on Monday.

Reiterating his frequent calls for action to fight climate change, Mr Guterres added: ‘The planet is getting hotter and more dangerous – no country is immune.’

In Portugal – his home country – a reading of 46.6°C was registered in Mora, about 60 miles east of Lisbon.

In Lisbon, tourists have been struggling to stay cool (Picture: Reuters)

Children in Munich have been playing in fountains to cool off (Picture: AFP)

In southern Germany, temperatures of up to 35°C were expected on Monday, and they were forecast to creep higher until midweek, going as high as 39°C on Wednesday.

Some German towns and regions imposed limits on how much water can be taken from rivers and lakes.

At the Berlin zoo, elephants were showered with water and bears were treated with blocks of ice containing fruit.

Thomas Brown

Head of Investigations