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In April 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic changed human behaviour worldwide, creating an increased demand for plastic, especially single-use plastic in the form of personal protective equipment. The pandemic also provided a unique situation for plastic pollution studies, especially microplastic studies. This study looks at the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and three national lockdowns on microplastic abundance at five sites along the river Thames, UK, compared to pre-Covid-19 levels. This study took place from May 2019-May 2021, with 3-L water samples collected monthly from each site starting at Teddington and ending at Southend-on-Sea. A total of 4480 pieces, the majority of fibres (82.1 %), were counted using light microscopy. Lockdown 2 (November 2020) had the highest average microplastic total (27.1 L -1 ). A total of 691 pieces were identified via Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). Polyvinyl chloride (36.19 %) made up the most microplastics identified. This study documents changes in microplastic abundance before, during and after the Covid-19 pandemic, an unprecedented event, as well as documenting microplastic abundance along the river Thames from 2019 to 2021., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)