Nepal is preparing to move the base camp for Mount Everest after it emerged that the current location is becoming unsafe for continued habitation due to global warming and human activity, according to a BBC News report.
The camp, which is used by over a thousand people in the spring climbing season, is located on the thinning Khumbu glacier.
Attempts are being made to identify a new site at a lower altitude, BBC quoted a Nepali official as saying. Researchers say swift melting destabilises the glacier, while climbers complain that crevasses are increasingly appearing at base camp.
According to Taranath Adhikari, director general of Nepal’s tourism department, the camp currently sits at an altitude of 5,364m, while the new one will be 200 to 400 metres lower.
The plans follow the recommendations of a committee formed by Nepal’s government to facilitate and monitor mountaineering in the Everest region.
Scientists say the Khumbu glacier, like many others in the Himalayan range, is rapidly melting due to global warming, among other factors. The BBC report quoted a 2018 study by researchers from Leeds University, which showed that the part of the glacier close to base camp was thinning at a rate of 1m per year.—Agencies
