Glacier Shifts on Mount Everest Due to Climate Change and Human Activity Create Concerning Impacts for Climbers and Locals

Image: eyesofalens, Adobe Stock

The BBC recently reported that Nepal is planning to move Mount Everest’s basecamp due to the melting of the Kumbu glacier at its base. These terrain shifts are thought to be caused by a combination of climate change and human activity. The article reports that the melting glacier can cause melt water movement, rock falls, and changes in landscape, such as crevasses that form overnight, which can be dangerous for anyone in the area.

The glaciers at basecamp aren’t the only things shifting on Mount Everest. Earlier this year, a study conducted by the University of Maine found that climate change, caused by humans, has caused the glacier at the highest elevation of Mount Everest to melt rapidly, which could cause impacts such as increased incidences of avalanches and decreased access to drinking and irrigation water for more than 1 billion people.

These reports are a reminder that in order to continue enjoying the world’s most magnificent sceneries and esteemed athletic pursuits, we must collectively work to curb the impacts of climate change right now.