Everest’s base camp is melting
by Nicole Wetsman from The Verge - All Posts on (#60FX1)
Everest base camp. | Photo by TASHI LAKPA SHERPA/AFP via Getty Images Nepal is moving the Everest base camp off of the melting Khumbu glacier, the BBC reported.
Research shows that the Khumbu glacier is rapidly thinning as a result of the changing climate. We see increased rock falls and movement of melt-water on the surface of the glaciers that can be hazardous," Scott Watson, a researcher at the University of Leeds who studies glaciers, told the BBC.
The current base camp location is becoming destabilized by the ice melt and is no longer safe. Climbers say cracks appear in the ground overnight, and guides say they expect more avalanches and ice falls at the current location going forward. The new base camp will be around 200 to 400 meters lower in altitude - and in a spot where there isn't year-round...