This photo shows a cumulus and stratocumulus cloud generated by a fierce fire inside the Sant Antnin waste recycling plant containing huge amounts of plastic ready to be shipped for recycling. Due to the very hot nature of the fire and the initial sea breezes, smoke from the fire quickly rose into the atmosphere to generate the photographed man-made clouds requiring the rare classification of `homogenitus` following the proper cloud species formed. The moderate development in height of the cumulus part of the cloud, hence cumulus mediocris, was formed just above the fire thermal itself as temperature had exceeded 1000C hence artificially inducing lots of instability in a very localized area and probably water from fire engines attempting to control the flames had contributed to the whiteness of the cloud. The cloud had also spread out forming the stratocumulus features. The weather sounding on the third thumbnail confirmed the light prevailing winds but did not indicate any inversions. My thought is that part of the cloud was composed of the remains of heavier matter such as very small burnt plastic pieces that was picked up by the thermal but were heavier to rise further into the air and actually depositing itself on the ground. The first thumbnail shows the initiation of this rare cloud formation whilst the second thumbnail depicts the end stages of the formed cloud before darkness hid the fire smoke completely. The fourth thumbnail indicated the level pressure field over the Western and Central Mediterranean including the Maltese Islands that permitted the man-made clouds to develop. Further information and pics of this fire are available through these links.