Nepal Suffers from the Melting Everest

Nepal Suffers from the Melting Everest

Hari Prasad Shrestha April 12, 2009

The world heritage Mount Everest is in danger by biggest threat of global warming. There are some factual findings to prove this fact. The first detection is that according to National Geographic news , a team sponsored by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) has found sign that the landscape of Mount Everest has changed significantly since Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay first conquered the peak in 1953.The next revealing is that the UNEP scientist based in Integrated Centre for Mountain Development Organization (ICIMOD) have used satellite and on the ground studies to pin-point 44 glacial lakes in Nepal and Bhutan that swollen, they could burst in a little on five years. The other finding is that the photographs released by environmental group show how the past 40 years of climate change are transforming Himalaya's landscape as ancient glaciers melt and retreat higher up the slope. Furthermore, the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change forecast if current trend continues 80% of the Himalayan glaciers will be gone in 30 years. In addition, after through measurement a proposal forwarded to Nepal by China to decrease the height of Mount Everest by 4 meters also indicates vulnerability of snow melting in the Himalayas.

These are the authentic uncovering of the international explorations. In my personal view too, the results of these explorations are not overstatement. I usually meet my many Sherpa friends, who regularly travel on Himalayas, each time they narrate new stories about lessening snow level in the Himalayan glaciers. The official data of Government of Nepal also reveals that frequency of snowfalls in the mountains is in declining trends.

Himalayas are considered to be one of the important lifeline and indicator to balance global warming. Keeping in mind narrations of the Sherpas, the coming generation of next century may not see snow in the Himalayas. During that time, snow in the Himalayas might be a story of fiery tale. Whether this forecast might be true or not but we can not ignore this fact by completely rejecting it.





As a result of global warming it has been proved that some parts of the Himalayas and Mount Everest are melting. Nepal, the country which lies in the foothills of Himalayas is suffering tremendously from this process.

The Himalayan country of Nepal neither has plenty of industries nor have excessive number of vehicles and the problem of deforestation are also not very serious here. But the unusual climate change, in considerable level is being observed since few years. The gift of the industrialization nations to the globe, the global warming has covered the entire atmospheric sphere of Nepal and whole Himalayas is in melting process. Without any fault Nepal is getting punishment of global warming.

Each year temperature in Nepal is increasing by 0.06 degree celcius rate. The agriculture sector has been unreliable due to heavy rain, draught and flood. Recently, an American satellite photographed the picture of burning forests of different location of Nepal. Due to no rain in the winter and excess dryness in forest the forest fire is ever-increasing in Nepal.

The other effect of global warming is observed in hydropower sector in Nepal. Due to low water level in the rivers and reservoirs the power generating capacity of hydropower projects have decreased by fifty percent. The Kulekhani hydro project of Nepal is in stage of closure due to lowest level of water in its reservoir.

The dangerous effect of the global warming and snow melting was observed during the excess flood in the Koshi river of Nepal. The abnormal flood in Koshi river, last year broke the dam and killed countless lives and deserted vast land of the eastern Nepal and the northern Bihar of India. (hpshrestha@yahoo.com)

http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/98163