Fact Check: Gurugram sees ‘doomsday’ clouds rolling in? No, it’s old video from Ukraine
A video of an unusual weather phenomenon is going viral on social media with the claim that it's from Gurugram. Netizens in comments ponder whether the ‘doomsday’ is here for Gurugram.
By K Sherly Sharon
Claim:The video shows huge clouds rolling over Gurugram on September 2.
Fact:The claim is false. The video shows the ‘thunder collar’ cloud phenomenon over Lviv in Ukraine on August 17, 2021.
Hyderabad: A video of a huge cloud rolling over high-rise residential buildings is going viral on social media with the claim that it shows the weather conditions in Gurugram on September 2.
The text on the video reads “2nd September 2025…Gurgram, Haryana, Delhi NCR”.
The video was shared on Instagram with the hashtags, ‘#gurgaon #monsoon #heavyrainfall #flood’. (Archive)
An Instagram user wrote in the comments, “Doomsday is here for Gurgaon”, while another said, “Do I have to go to office tomorrow, or should I apply for Work from Home?”
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the claim is false. The video was shot over Lviv, Ukraine, on August 17, 2021.
We did not find any credible news reports or social media posts using the viral video, stating that it shows the weather conditions in Gurugram.
Using reverse image search of keyframes from the viral video, we found that the video was uploaded to YouTube on August 18, 2021. YouTube Channel ‘Meteored’ posted the video with the title ‘Terrifying shelf cloud in Lviv, Ukraine’.
The description video reveals a spectacular cloud formation on August 17, 2021.
Using keyword searches, we found a report published by the Ukrainian news organisation, UANews, on August 18, 2021. The report was titled, ‘Rare phenomenon: Lviv covered by a unique “thunder collar” cloud (Video)’.
The report stated that the city of Lviv was covered by a cloud phenomenon known as ‘thunder collar’. The report shared a link to a YouTube video published by ‘ZAXID.NET’ on the same day, showing the viral video.
Quoting a weather forecaster, Natalka Didenko, ZAXID.NET wrote, “This cloud is likely a subspecies of cumulonimbus clouds – a ‘thunder collar’. Cumulonimbus clouds occur more often in Ukraine, but the ‘thunder collar’ phenomenon is a rarity.”
The description also credited Dmytro Shvets for the video of the ‘thunder collar’ cloud formation over Lviv city. We also found a BBC Weather X post sharing the viral video, crediting the same person.
We checked the Facebook account of Dmytro Shvets and found that the viral video was originally posted on August 17, 2021. He also tagged Lviv, Ukraine, as the location. According to the Facebook page, Dmytro Shvets is an Associate Professor at Ivan Franko National University of Lviv and a Partner at ELAW Ukraine law firm.
New Vision, a Ukrainian digital newspaper, also shared the viral video in a report, ‘A rare phenomenon: an unusual cloud was spotted in the sky over Lviv — video’.
The report stated that a huge storm cloud of unusual shape moved over the houses, bringing with it a downpour and a thunderstorm.
The report also shared another video posted by Igor Zinkevych showing the ‘thunder collar’ cloud phenomenon rolling over Lviv city from a different angle.
The viral video does not show the weather conditions in Gurugram on September 2. It shows the ‘thunder collar’ cloud phenomenon rolling over Lviv of Ukraine, on August 17, 2021.
Therefore, NewsMeter concludes that the viral claim is false.
