Nepal Mulls Shifting Everest Base Camp Due To The Melting Of Glaciers And Unsafe Human Activity

During the spring climbing season, Nepal's Khumbu glacier, the current base camp, is used by almost 1,500 people. Unfortunately, the glaciers are melting and thinning rapidly due to global warming and unsafe human activities. Therefore, the Nepal government is planning to shift the base to another site. 

The current location, the base camp is situated at an altitude of 5,364m., the new base camp will be 200m to 400m lower. According to reports, this new site is located at a lower altitude and has no year-round ice.

The glaciers are melting and thus causing destabilisation. Along with this, climbers can also see crevasses and cracks showing up at the base camp everyone is asleep; the research points out. According to a report, it has been estimated that the ice in the South Cole glacier located at an elevation of 8,020 metres is thinning at a rate of nearly two-meter per year.

According to a report, Taranath Adhikari, the director general of Nepal’s tourism department, said," We are now preparing for the relocation and we will soon begin consultation with all stakeholders. It is basically about adapting to the changes we are seeing at the base camp and it has become essential for the sustainability of the mountaineering business itself." In order to facilitate and keep a tab on mountaineering in the Everest region, the Nepal government had made a committee which will decide. A decision is yet to be made but according to a report, the Nepali officials may expect the move to happen by 2024.

Looking at the different sides of the same coin, a lot of other problems are also highlighted. With a new base camp located at a lower altitude, the length between the two base camps increases. Thus, making the journey longer.

Six decades ago, in 1954, India took the responsibility to measure the world's highest peak, Mt Everest. In December 2002, China and Nepal announced that Mt Everest was taller by 86 centimetres. Thus, settling the long dispute both neighbouring countries had.