The Thames usually begins in the English market town of Cirencester, part of the green and rolling countryside of the Cotswolds, and flows through the capital, London, and then out to the North Sea.
According to the Rivers Trust, which operates across the UK and Ireland, the head of the river has shifted 5 miles (8 kilometers) downstream to Somerford Keynes.
The current there is weak and just perceptible.
“What we are seeing at the source of the iconic River Thames is a sad symbol of the situation we are facing across the country now and in the future,” said Christine Colvin, advocacy and engagement director for the Rivers Trust, in a statement broadcast on CNN.
The “source” refers to the beginning or headwaters of a river.
“While it’s not uncommon for the spring to be dry in the summer, to see the river flowing just five miles downstream is unprecedented,” she said. “The climate crisis is leading and will lead to even more extreme weather, including droughts and heat waves. This poses a serious threat to rivers and therefore to the entire landscape.”
She added that the country needs to build resilience to the future climate.
“This means detecting household leaks, patching leaks in grid infrastructure, making household water use more efficient, and implementing sustainable drainage solutions as part of a much-needed green infrastructure,” Colvin said.
The shift in the river’s headwaters comes as authorities in England warn the nation could officially fall into a drought sometime in August.
Southern England had its driest July since 1836, with just 17% of average rainfall, according to the Met Bureau. The country as a whole received just 35% (about 23 millimeters) of its average rainfall in July.
Several water companies have already announced hose bans in parts of southern England.
Britain’s Met Office has warned that high temperatures will return to England next week, although they are expected to be nowhere near July’s record highs.
A statement said an anticyclone was building up from the Atlantic to the south and south-west of England and that temperatures could reach the low to mid 30s in degrees Celsius towards the end of next week.
“We could see parts of the UK hitting heatwaves if above-average temperatures last for three days or more,” said Steve Willington, Met Office chief forecaster. “As the high pressure builds up, there is very little meaningful rain in the forecast, particularly in areas of southern England that have experienced very dry conditions over the last month.”
Rebekah Sherwin, deputy chief meteorologist at the Met Office, said the sun in early August in the UK does not have the same potential for warming as it did in mid-July because the sun is lower in the sky and the days are shorter.
“Both factors suggest that temperatures are very unlikely to be significantly above the low to mid 30s,” she said. “However, this would still be a hot weather spell.”
In mainland Europe, some countries, including France, are experiencing their third heatwave of the summer and parts of the continent are hit by drought.