The Melting Glaciers of the Everest

The blinding white snow-covered landscapes of the earth are nothing less than magical. The glaciers around the world have been untouched and un-altered with little to no human intervention for as long as they have existed. These extraordinary landscapes thrive in the most extreme conditions, facilitating as a habitat for the rarest species to walk on earth. Glaciers around the world can range from ice that is several hundred to several thousand years old and provide a scientific record of how climate has changed over time. No anthropological factor had ever affected this area given its extreme location. However, that has been long been untrue due to largescale human activities, contributing to the change in the world-climate. Today, about 10% of land area on Earth is covered with glacial ice. Almost 90% is in Antarctica, while the remaining 10% is in the Greenland ice cap.

Since the early 1900s, many glaciers around the world have been rapidly melting. Human activities are at the root of this phenomenon. Specifically, since the industrial revolution, carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions have raised temperatures, even higher in the poles, and as a result, glaciers are rapidly melting, calving off into the sea and retreating on land.

Melting glaciers add to rising sea levels, which in turn increases coastal erosion and elevates storm surge as warming air and ocean temperatures create more frequent and intense coastal storms like hurricanes and typhoons. As this ice melts, darker patches of ocean start to emerge, eliminating the effect that previously cooled the poles, creating warmer air temperatures and in turn disrupting normal patterns of ocean circulation. Research shows the polar vortex is appearing outside of the Arctic more frequently because of changes to the jet stream, caused by a combination of warming air and ocean temperatures in the Arctic and the tropics. The glacial melt we are witnessing today in Antarctic and Greenland is changing the circulation of the Atlantic Ocean and has been linked to collapse of fisheries in the Gulf of Maine and more destructive storms and hurricanes around the planet. As sea ice and glaciers melt and oceans warm, ocean currents will continue to disrupt weather patterns worldwide. Industries that thrive on vibrant fisheries will be affected as warmer waters change where and when fish spawn. Coastal communities will continue to face billion-dollar disaster recovery bills as flooding becomes more frequent and storms become more intense. People are not the only ones impacted. In the Arctic, as sea ice melts, wildlife like walrus are losing their home and polar bears are spending more time on land, causing higher rates of conflict between people and bears.

Such are the disastrous consequences of glacial ice melting. To put it into context We have taken the case study of South Col Glacier, located between Mount Everest and Lhotse , the highest and the fourth highest mountain in the world.

Few day ago, University of Maine published a research in which it showed that The South Col, the glacier is around 7,900 metres (26,000 feet) above sea level and a kilometre below the peak of the world's highest mountain, Mount Everest.

This glacier has lost around 55 metres of ice in the last 25 years. The South Col is a sharp-edged col between Mount Everest and Lhotse. It is the area which is typically swept by high winds which makes it free of significant snow accumulation. In the study, Carbon dating showed that the top layer of ice was around 2,000 years old, suggesting that the glacier was thinning more than 80 times faster than the time it took to form.

Due to the melting of the glacier hundreds of lake have formed in the foothill of Himalayas which increases the risk of lake burst and high chances of floods. Due to melting of ice, exposed rocks can be seen which were under the ice for a long time. Ice in this glacier has melted drastically in last three decades and if it melts at this rate it may disappear within few decades. Not only the glaciers of Everest but many mountains are losing the ice due to rapid climate change.

Himalayan glaciers are the critical source of fresh-water for numerous large Asian river systems, including the Indus, Ganges, and Brahmaputra, which provide fresh water for over a billion people. It also helps for the fertile soil around the region and also for generating energy. Melting of these glaciers has given way to adverse consequences which will be disastrous in the future.

Co-Authors -:

Nidhi Dhamne (https://www.linkedin.com/in/nidhi-dhamne-81681820b)

Haritashva Shrivastava (https://www.linkedin.com/in/haritashva-shrivastava-804b5b218)