Here we see the effects of the 2012 floods on the Christ Church water meadows by the Thames at Oxford. The very name of this open part of land by the


Here we see the effects of the 2012 floods on the Christ Church water meadows by the Thames at Oxford. The very name of this open part of land by the river demonstrates its historic predisposition to becoming waterlogged or completely submerged when the Thames overflows its banks. Oxford grew up at the conjunction of two rivers, the Thames and the Cherwell; in fact, the very reason for Oxford's existence - together with its name - was the presence of a ford for oxen crossing the Thames, located near the present Folly Bridge. Its close connection to these rivers, together with a dense network of streams and canals, mean that the city has always experienced floods. But climate change is making this worse over recent years. Low lying parts of the city - particularly those close to the Thames at that very same Folly Bridge - have proved particularly susceptible.


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Photo credit: © Jon Bower / Alamy / Afripics
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