The Thames Barrier under a partly cloudy sky at dusk.

Thames Barrier

The Thames Barrier is a retractable barrier system built to protect the floodplain of most of Greater London from exceptionally high tides and storm surges moving up from the North Sea. It has been operational since 1982. When needed, it is closed (raised) during high tide; at low tide, it can be opened to restore the river's flow towards the sea. Built about 2 miles (3.2 kilometres) east of the Isle of Dogs, its northern bank is in Silvertown in the London Borough of Newham and its southern bank is in the New Charlton area of the Royal Borough of Greenwich.

How the Thames Barrier works, and when it is scheduled to close.
Forthcoming scheduled closures Planned tests of the Thames Barrier 2023 to 2024.
The Barrier is operated once a month for maintenance and test purposes.

Details of the next planned closures are listed below:

  • 2 November 2023 Thursday 9:15 - 11:45 (cancelled)
  • 4 December 2023 Monday 10:30 - 13:00
  • 15 January 2024 Monday 9:50 - 12:20
  • 13 February 2024 Tuesday 9:35 - 12:05
  • 14 March 2024 Thursday 9:40 - 12:10
  • 11 April 2024 Thursday 9:40 - 12:10
  • 20 March 2025 Thursday 09:40 12:10
  • 17 April 2025 Thursday 09:45 12:10
  • 19 May 2025 Monday 11:10 13:40
  • 16 June 2025 Monday 10:30 13:00
  • 14 July 2025 Monday 09:50 12:20
  • 12 August 2025 Tuesday 09:45 12:15
  • 7 September 2025 Sunday 07:15 17:15
  • 9 October 2025 Thursday 09:10 11:40
Big Ben under renovation with scaffolding.

Planned tests of the Thames Barrier in 2025/2026

The Barrier is operated once a month for maintenance and test purposes. Details of the next planned closures are listed below.

Note these times may change because of a particular experiment or test which engineers need to carry out or because of the weather. The closure and reopening of the gates may start up to an hour before the listed times.

Occasionally closures may be cancelled at short notice due to the Thames Barrier being closed in that month for flood defence purposes or navigational reasons.

DateDay of the weekApproximate river closure start timeApproximate river closure end time

  • 10 November 2025 Monday 09:5012:209

  • December 2025 Tuesday 09:4512:207

  • January 2026 Wednesday 10:4512:155

  • February 2026 Thursday 09:3012:009

  • March 2026 Monday 09:5012:20