More than 40,000 Sherpas face a looming threat of devastation as they live their lives in the path of future destruction. The base of the Himalayas in due course will be submerged by a torrent of millions of tons of water spilling down the slopes from new lakes formed by the melting ice of the Himalayas.
The Everest melting down is for real, scientists, foresee that all glaciers in the Himalayas, which range from half a mile to more than three miles long, could end up as small patches of ice within 50 years if global warming is not checked.
The Himalayas contain the largest store of water outside the polar ice caps, and feed seven great Asian rivers. The rapid melting of Himalayan glaciers will first increase the volume of water in rivers, causing widespread flooding. After which the water will decline leading to many shortages in food, water and arable land.
A United Nations study of the 9,000 glacial lakes in the Himalayas found that more than 200 are at risk of ‘outburst floods’, unleashing thousands of cubic metres of water per second into an area where 40,000 people live. Can we in any way prevent this eco-disaster of massive proportions?
In 1985, Lake Dig Tsho in the Everest region released 10 million cubic metres of water in three hours. It caused a 10-metre-high wall of water which swept away a power station, bridges, farmland, houses, livestock and people up to 55 miles downstream.
Glacier pinnacles forest
Fifty-four years after the first historic ascent, Hillary’s son, Peter, said global warming had rapidly altered the appearance of the highest mountain in the world. Jamling Tenzing Norgay said the face of Mount Everest was changing and its glaciers had receded since his late father first climbed it.
Peter Hillary, who has twice reached Everest’s summit himself is quoted to have said:
Climate change is happening. This is a fact. Base camp used to sit at 5,320 metres. This year it was at 5,280 metres because the ice is melting from the top and side. Base camp is sinking each year. For Sherpas living on Mount Everest this is something they can see every day but they can’t do anything about it on their own.
The Alpine Ascents Team heads up the summit ridge with Pete Athans, Peter Hillary and the rest of their team in the lead.
The glacier where Sir Edmund and Norgay pitched their base camp before eventually reaching the summit at 29,000ft on 29 May 1953 has retreated three miles in the past 20 years.
If people even now do not realize the absolute threat that global warming poses many lives will be lost in such regions of the world. The worst-case scenario would be a cascade effect whereby one overflowing lake empties into another, starting a chain reaction which would kill thousands and wipe out agriculture for generations.
Image credit: [1],[2], [3], [4]
Source: The Independent