An unprecedented heat wave has gripped Great Britain.
This summer has seen consistently high temperatures of 80 or even 90 degrees, making it the driest summer on record since the middle of the 1930s.
Rivers and reservoirs have dropped far below their typical water levels as a result of the extreme heat.
The powerful River Thames in London is not immune. The famous river’s source, located approximately 90 miles west of the capital near the English community of Ashton Keynes, has dried up for the first time at least since 1976.
Northern England visitor Michael Sanders was horrified by what he saw when he travelled by the monument.
He said to the French news agency AFP as he travelled along the bone-dry riverbank, “We started at Thames head at the start of this morning, and we haven’t located the Thames yet!” “As you can see, it has dried fully from top to bottom.
There is the occasional puddle and muddy patch, but no flow as of yet.
The Thames will, hopefully, be found further downstream, but for the time being, it has vanished.”
In many areas of the United Kingdom, months without any appreciable rainfall have coupled with July’s record-breaking temperatures to cause damage.
The beginning of the Thames’ 215-mile trip east to the sea was formerly defined by lush green meadows and a meandering stream.
Now, all that is left are barren farms and the dried, cracked riverbed.
Although the Thames is still flowing through London, its origin has considerably changed.
According to Dr. Rob Collins, director of policy and science at the Rivers Trust, “the source of the Thames in Gloucestershire has dried up as a result of the prolonged dry weather, with a weak flow now only just about discernible more than five miles downstream.”
There is growing concern that the river may not reach its source as the unusual heat wave shows no signs of abating and weather forecasts warn that the severe temperatures may become more frequent during the summer.
And that’s more than just a sentimental worry, as the Thames, as it flows out to sea, supplies fresh water to millions of homes and businesses across the most densely populated region of Britain.
Ashton Keynes resident Andrew Jack told the AFP, “We haven’t seen it as dry and as deserted as today, I don’t think.
He wasn’t as enthusiastic about the shifting weather patterns on the historically lush and green isles as some of his fellow Britons.
“Many English people, I believe, are of the opinion, “Actually, terrific, let’s have some European weather!”
However, we shouldn’t in reality. And the fact that we are experiencing such heat and dryness indicates that something has changed and something has gone wrong.”
“As we experience more and more summers like this, I personally worry that things will only get worse and that the U.K. will need to adapt to hotter weather.”