PARIC: Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world so reaching its peak is a highly coveted feat. Unfortunately, the mountain will be largely looking different by the end of the century as researchers project that Everest’s glaciers will be melting dramatically due to climate change.
According to researchers from the European Geosciences Union, between 70 percent and 99 percent of the glaciers around Mount Everest will be gone by 2100. Joseph Shea from the International Center for Integrated Mountain Development said that glaciers in the region are highly sensitive to changes in temperature and that even continued snowing will not be enough to keep them from melting.
Several things can be expected when the glaciers around Mount Everest melt. For starters, widespread flooding may be unavoidable in the area. Meltwater drains into the Kosi River so an increased amount of water flowing into the river will cause an overflow that will overwhelm low-lying areas around the region.
On the upside, less ice will make the mountain safer for climbers, as most people dying in their attempts to climb Mount Everest succumb to exposure or are victims of avalanches. Aside from making the mountain area warmer, the melt will also reveal more of the actua mountain, making it easier to climb.
However, revealing Mount Everest will also unveil just how much garbage has been accumulating on the mountain through the years, left by the very climbers heading for the summit. There is so much trash that a climbing team from the Indian Army has set out to remove at least 8,000 pounds of waste from camps around the mountain. Maj. Ranveer Singh Jamval, the team’s lead, said Mount Everest has now become the world’s highest junkyard.
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