Everest Day: Nepal honours climbers, raises alarm for Himalayas

Nepal celebrated the 73rd Everest Day, honouring mountaineers while calling for the preservation of the Himalayas. Concerns were raised over melting glaciers due to global warming, threatening the region's ecosystem and global water resources.

Everest Day Celebrations and Tributes

Nepal on Friday celebrated the 73rd Everest Day, honouring the record-holding climbers along with calling for the preservation of the Himalayas amid rising global temperatures. Hundreds of mountaineers, Everest summiteers, gathered and held an awareness rally walking through the streets of Kathmandu, who were later felicitated by the government, honouring their feat of scaling the highest peak in the world.

The Sherpa community of Nepal is mainly dependent on mountaineering and expeditions. They've been assigned to fix the ropes to the summit, which officially opens the summit window to the climbing enthusiasts. Being stronger in high altitude, Sherpas are well-suited for alpine-style expeditions in the Himalayas. Climbers mainly need them to carry the oxygen, the gear, and as a safety on the summit path. They are highly recognised as elite mountaineers and experts in high-altitude adventures.

Himalayas Under Threat from Climate Change

As the Sherpas have been helping and setting out records, there is a renewed call for protection of the Himalayas, which is the main source of income for cash-strapped Nepal, as well as the backbone of mountaineers. "The Sagarmatha (Everest) and other mountains are in danger due to the rise in global temperature. The glaciers are slowly melting; those aboriginals of the high Himalayas are at risk. Not only them the entire population of earth living in the coastal areas are sinking, and water resources are also drying up. The Himalayas are the world's major source of water; provides drinking water for the world population," Khadak Raj Paudel (Ganess), the Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation said.

Scientific Findings on Glacial Melt

Recent research has also found that Mount Everest's glaciers have lost 2,000 years of ice in just the past 30 years. The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), working in the field of Mountain and ecological conservation, has been called on to work on the aspect of climate change. "70 years since the first successful ascent of Everest, the tallest mountain on earth - Chomolungma, "Goddess, Mother of the World", as it is known in Tibetan, and Sagarmatha, "Head above the Clouds" in Nepali - is undergoing unprecedented and largely irreversible change," the organisation stated, launching its new awareness campaign.

Researchers have also found that the South Col Glacier has lost more than 54 meters of thickness in the past 25 years alone.

Record Climbing Season and Fatalities

Nepal this year has seen a high influx of climbing aspirants as the Department of Tourism has issued permits to 495 people for Everest alone, the highest number since Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa first scaled the mountain in 1953.

As per the officials, a total of 7 deaths have been recorded during the spring expedition. Earlier in 2021, Nepal had issued a record 409 permits, which had overcrowded the summit, which is often blamed for the high fatalities that year. A year later, the number dropped to 325, taken as an impact of ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. (ANI)

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