Global Warming Has Made Climbing, The Everest Even More Dangerous



Mount Everest and its surrounding peaks are increasingly polluted and warmer, and nearby glaciers are melting at an alarming rate that is likely to make it more dangerous for future climbers, a U.S. scientist who spent weeks in the Everest region said Tuesday.
Professor John All of Western Washington University said after returning from the mountains that he and his team of fellow scientists found there was lot of pollution buried deep in the snow, and that the snow was surprisingly dark when they processed and filtered it.

"What that means is there are little pieces of pollution that the snow is forming around, so the snow is actually trapping the pollution and pulling it down," All said in Kathmandu, Nepal's capital.

All and his team spent weeks testing snow on Everest and its surrounding peaks, as well as plants on the foothills.

"The warming temperature is melting the glaciers and the snow around Mount Everest very quickly, so what happens is even when there is a storm it melts in a couple of hours," he said. "The glaciers are retreating dramatically because of global warming."

He said because the glaciers are getting thinner and smaller, it is making it more dangerous for climbers.



Hundreds of climbers had lined up on May 22 and 23 to attempt to reach Everest's summit, creating a traffic jam that is being blamed for the deaths of several climbers.

All said it was too risky for his team to collect samples with that many climbers moving very slowly.

The scientists said the samples and data would be processed once they return to United States, and they would then issue a report on their findings. They had done similar research in the area in 2009.

"Overall, the past 10 years have seen a lot changes in the mountains, and they all have been for the negative environmentally in terms of long term survivability of the glaciers," All said.

Climate change is making Mount Everest more dangerous to climb, a Nepalese Sherpa said in Kathmandu Tuesday after breaking his own record by making a 20th ascent of the world's highest peak.

Apa Sherpa, who dedicated his latest climb to the impact of global warming on the Himalayas, said he was disturbed by the visible changes on the mountain caused by rising temperatures.

"The snow along the slopes had melted, exposing the bare rocks underneath, which made it very difficult for us to walk up the slope as there was no snow to dig our crampons into," he said.

"This has made the trail very dangerous for all climbers."

Nepalese Sherpa On Climate Change Affecting Everest



Apa, 50, has been nicknamed the "super Sherpa" for the apparent ease with which he climbs Everest, but he was visibly exhausted as he spoke to journalists in the Nepalese capital three days after reaching the summit.

He led an expedition aimed at raising awareness of the impact of climate change in the Himalayas and clearing up the tonnes of rubbish left on the mountain by previous expeditions.

The team brought down 4.8 tonnes of rubbish from the mountain, some of which will be displayed at a festival to be held next month in the Everest region to highlight the problems of global warming.



Around 250 people scaled Mount Everest from the south side this year, Nepal's mountaineering department said Tuesday, as heavy snow brought the brief climbing season to an early close.

They said the weather on Everest had deteriorated since snow began falling on Sunday, ending a climbing season that has set a record for the youngest person ever to reach the top as well as the highest number of summits.

The implications of global climate change are more far-reaching and impactful than making a mountain more dangerous for climbers. For instance, according to the same study referenced above, in Nepal, glaciers help to regulate climate and keep temperatures lower. 

As the glaciers disappear, it creates a positive feedback loop, increasing temperatures at an exponential rate. Additionally, much of the region obtains its freshwater from glacial melt. 

In the short-term glacial melt would increase, but in the long-term, as the glaciers deplete, the region may face a water shortage crisis. These are just microcosmic examples of the innumerable effects climate change could create and is creating on a global scale.

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