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Glaciers Melting: No snow left at Mount Everest base camp

April 24, 2015 1:09 PM |

Mount Everest MeltingGlaciers in Tibet have shrunk by nearly 18 percent in the last 65 years or so. This includes the thick share of ice around the base camp of the world’s highest peak Mount Everest. Rock structures are now visible at Mount Everest’s base camp. The missing ice is being attributed to rising pollution levels in the region.

Since 1950, an average of 247 square kilometers of glacial ice has vanished. The shocking revelation has surprised mountaineers across the world. The Qomolangma base camp, which is located at a height of about 5,200 metres above sea level, was earlier covered with thick ice. But now, no ice cover is visible on the peak’s important base camp.

Glaciers around the mountain have retreated by almost 10 per cent since 1974. The glacial lake situated at the foot of the mountain is now nearly 13 times bigger. Glaciers are an integral part of the global climate system. Also, they are an important source of fresh water. China accounts for about 14.5 percent of the world’s total glaciers.

As glaciers continue to melt, large-scale climatic and ecological change is inevitable. New lakes will be formed and land masses will get flooded as glaciers retreat every year. Between 1930s and 1990s, glacial lakes in Tibet were overhauled some 15 times, thereby causing floods in the region. Authorities in the region are working in close co-operation with environmentalists in order to deal with the situation. A major challenge is pollution which must be controlled at any cost. In the meantime, Mount Everest continues to lose snow.

(Featured Image Credits: yale.edu)






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