“Environmental Crisis in the Himalayas – Climate Change, Garbage, and Pathogens Threaten Mount Everest”

17 Kenron Coole, an experienced British mountaineer who has conquered the Everest peak, called the world through Reuters that compared to the past times, the amount of ice in the Himalayas has decreased significantly, and he also pointed to a great disaster that the world is about to face. Climate change, which is intensifying all over the world, has also gripped the Himalayas. It is unthinkable to be without snow in Himawaan. But the problem facing the Himalayas is not only snow. Today, the pile of garbage is rising to cover the Himavan.

Ever since Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay climbed the 8,848-meter peak on May 29, 1953, Everest has been a paradise for travelers around the world. Every year thousands of tourists from all over the world climb the Himalayas with the increasing facilities. Each one accomplishes the greatest goal of his life when he climbs the Himalayas. But the reality is that the garbage they leave behind in the Himalayas has today turned the Himalayas into another garbage dump. A video shared by Everest Today, the leading portal for climbing Everest, shows the saddest sight of the glacier.

Sharing the video on Twitter, Everest Today wrote: “#Disappointing to see garbage piling up at Camp IV on #Everest (8848.86m). The time has come for us to address this issue with urgency and commitment. Stricter regulations, implementation of clean climbing practices and effective waste management strategies may be called for,”

Disheartening to see the accumulation of garbage at Camp IV on Mt (8848.86 m). It’s high time we address this issue with urgency and commitment. Let’s demand stricter regulations, enforcement of clean climbing practices, and effective waste management strategies. Video… pic.twitter.com/KGMlRmUuZk

— Everest Today (@EverestToday)

climate change; 17-time Himalayan conqueror says ‘Himalayas are getting less snow’

Everest will be the highest garbage dump in the world. According to National Geographic, every climber leaves about eight kilograms of waste on Everest. That includes food containers, tents, empty oxygen tanks, and even human excrement. Exhausted climbers often descend Everest, leaving their heavy tents behind while struggling to breathe and overcome with nausea.

Many people who watched the video came forward to give their comments. ‘ I don’t think it’s adventurous. People do whatever they feel like for the thrill. They want to enjoy the fresh air and surroundings. But they are unable to keep even their own house clean.’ Someone wrote. IFS officer Supriya Sahu also came to express her opinion. ‘When humans don’t spare even Mount Everest from dumping their garbage and plastic waste, it’s really heartbreaking.’

Using the latest gene sequencing technology to analyze soil from Mount Everest, researchers say Everest is now a major pathogen hotbed. Thousands of microorganisms from the human body are also left in the Himalayas when mountaineers climbing Everest sneeze and cough and sometimes die and are left in the Himalayas because their bodies cannot be found. Extreme cold keeps these microbes dead for centuries. Although some microorganisms are dormant, they have acquired the ability to survive. The new information is in a study published in the journal Arctic, Antarctic and Alpine Research.

Germs from all over the world are at rest on Mount Everest, study finds

Last Updated May 30, 2023, 1:20 PM IST