11/07/2026
🌡️As temperatures rise into the double digits across London this week, many of us will reach for a fan or a shady spot to stay cool. But while we find ways to beat the heat, our rivers are facing their own challenges and they need our support.
🌊Healthy rivers are essential to tackling the impacts of climate change and creating a thriving environment for people and wildlife. As summer temperatures increase, warmer water holds less oxygen, putting fish and other aquatic species under pressure. In extreme conditions, falling oxygen levels can cause serious harm, leaving rivers struggling to support life.
But climate change is not the only challenge facing our rivers. Across London and the wider Thames Basin, waterways are under pressure from a range of threats, including sewage pollution, plastic pollution, and polluted road runoff.
Water is life, and protecting it is vital.
As an environmental charity dedicated to transforming London and the Thames Basin into a cleaner, healthier, and more climate resilient region, Thames21 is working to restore rivers, reconnect communities with nature, and build resilience across our waterways.
Through innovative projects and the commitment of thousands of volunteers, we are helping rivers adapt to the challenges of a changing climate. Over the past 20-plus years, Thames21 has delivered 12 constructed wetlands across the region. These powerful nature based solutions improve water quality, capture polluted road runoff, reduce flood risk, and create valuable habitats where biodiversity can flourish.
These projects show what is possible when we work with nature rather than against it. By restoring natural processes and investing in healthier rivers and catchments today, we can help protect communities, wildlife, and the economic heart of our region from the growing impacts of climate change.
The climate emergency requires urgent action, collaboration, and long term thinking. Together, we can create rivers that are cleaner, healthier, and resilient enough to support life for generations to come.
Find out more about us here: https://www.thames21.org.uk/2025/04/21-ways-thames21-is-fighting-pollution-in-the-thames/
