The Thames usually begins in Cirencester, part of the green and hilly Cotswolds countryside, and flows through the capital, London, and then into the North Sea.
The river's start has moved 5 miles 8 kilometers downstream to Somerford Keynes, according to the Rivers Trust, which works across the UK and Ireland.
The flow there is weak and only discernible.
The River Thames' source is sadly emblematic of the situation we're facing across the country, said Christine Colvin, Advocacy and Engagement Director for the Rivers Trust, in a statement sent to CNN.
A part of the river dried up in Kemble, England. The source refers to the start or headwaters of a river. She said that it's not uncommon for the source to be dry in the summer, but to only see the river flowing five miles downstream is unprecedented. The climate crisis is leading to more extreme weather, including droughts and heatwaves. This poses a grave threat to rivers and the wider landscape as a result. The country needed to build resilience against the future climate, as Ukrainian grain shipped out, but the food crisis isn't going anywhere. Colvin said this means detecting household leaks, fixing mains infrastructure leaks, more efficient water use domestically and implementing sustainable drainage solutions as part of the desperately needed green infrastructure. The move in the headwaters comes as authorities in England warn that the nation could fall into drought at some point in August. A view of the Tower Bridge, spanning the Thames in London. Southern England has had its driest July on record since 1836, with only 17% of average rainfall, according to the Met office. The country as a whole recorded just 35% of its average rainfall in July. Several water companies have already announced hosepipe bans in parts of England's south. The Met Office of the UK warned that high temperatures will return to England next week, but they are not expected to reach the record highs seen in July. It said that an area of high pressure was building from the Atlantic into the south and southwest of England, and that temperatures could reach the low to mid 30 s, in degrees Celsius, towards the end of next week. These cities are better at enduring extreme heat. Here's what they're doing: parts of the UK could enter heatwave conditions if the above-average temperatures last for three days or more, Met Office chief forecaster Steve Willington said. As the high pressure builds, there is very little rain in the forecast, especially in areas in the south of England, which experienced very dry conditions last month. Early August sunshine in the UK didn't have the same heating potential as in mid-July because the sun is lower in the sky and the days are shorter, according to Rebekah Sherwin, deputy chief meteorologist at the Met OfficeMet Office. She said that both of these factors suggest that we're very unlikely to see temperatures peak much above low to mid 30 s. This would still be a hot spell of weather. On the mainland Europe, some countries including France are experiencing their third heat wave of the summer and pockets of the continent are in drought.