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Watching the glaciers melt – first hand
19 May 2008
Image courtesy of
WWF
Ang Tshering Sherpa is 54 and lives in Khumjung - one of the famous Sherpa
villages on the way to Mount Everest in Nepal. Running a trekking business and
as president of the Nepal Mountaineering Association, he knows the mountains
better than anyone and has seen "vast changes" in his lifetime.
"Glaciers are rapidly retreating and new glacial lakes have formed where there
was only ice and snow before."
"Before 1960, Imja Lake (5,000 metres above sea level) did not even exist. It
first appeared in 1962 as a small pond. Now, the lake is almost 1.6 kilometres
long and could burst at any moment."
Image courtesy of Ben Tubby/WWF
Previous lake bursts have resulted in huge loss of life, property and
infrastructure. "I dread thinking about the calamities and human loss when these
lakes burst."
"Our mountaineering profession is also facing problems due to unpredictable
weather condition." The climbing season has now changed and the weather has
become less reliable. "It snows when it is time to rain, and rains when it
should snow."
"I don’t think local pollution and tourism is the cause for this trend. I think
it is because of global warming."
This story was provided by the WWF.
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