Everest Glacier Formed Over 2000 Years Has Melted Away in 25 Years

Mountaineers are resting at the Everest Base Camp, the world's highest peak at 8,848 meters above sea level.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Seoyoung] A study has revealed that glaciers near the summit of Everest, which formed over the course of 2,000 years, have disappeared in the past 25 years.

On the 3rd (local time), CNN reported that scientists, including researchers from the University of Maine in the United States and climbing teams, explored the 'South Col' area, one of the Everest climbing routes, in 2019 and published these findings in the Nature Portfolio Journal (NPJ) "Climate and Atmospheric Science." The research team stated that glaciers that were once part of the Everest icefield have almost turned into snow.

The researchers suggested that these changes may have started in the early 1950s but accelerated in the 1990s, identifying global warming as the primary cause. During the 2019 expedition, they extracted and analyzed a 10-meter-long ice core (a piece of glacier ice buried for a long time) and installed two Automatic Weather Stations (AWS) to measure temperature, wind direction, humidity, and other factors to investigate how the glaciers were affected by human-induced climate change.

As a result, the research team confirmed that human-driven climate change is impacting even the highest points on Earth, where human hands rarely reach, and that the crucial balance maintained by the snow-covered surface is breaking down. They also conducted simulations and found that when glaciers are heavily exposed to sunlight, factors such as slight humidity drops or strong winds accelerate melting or evaporation. They added that if glaciers disappear, the inability to reflect sunlight could further speed up ice melting.

Regarding this study, the researchers expressed concern that rapid glacier loss on Everest could increase avalanches and accelerate negative effects such as depletion of water resources for surrounding populations. Director Mayevsky emphasized in an interview with CNN, "The situation has changed significantly since humans began occupying the Everest area," and added, "While polar bears have become a symbol of global warming, I hope what happens at the summit of Everest will also serve as a warning."

Previously, during the 2019 Everest expedition, the research team drilled an ice core at the highest ground point (altitude 8,020m), discovered microplastics likely from clothing or tents at the highest point (8,440m), and installed an Automatic Weather Station at the so-called "death zone" at 8,430m, setting three records recognized by the Guinness World Records. Notably, this was the first time an Automatic Weather Station was installed at an altitude above 8,000m, where humans cannot properly breathe oxygen.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.