China installs automatic weather monitoring station atop Everest
Chinese media have described it as a major breakthrough for conducting a comprehensive scientific research operation at the summit. The goal is to study the impact of climate change in the Himalayas.
Mount Everest on Wednesday recorded the first successful expedition of this year’s spring season with several climbers reaching atop the summit of the world’s highest peak via the northern side, according to reports.
“The Chinese scientific expedition team of "Earth Summit Mission 2022" successfully summited 8,848.86-meter Mount Qomolangma on Wednesday, with the first batch of the team members arriving at the summit at 12:22 p.m.,” CGTN, a Chinese media outlet reported, “Twelve team members, or mountaineers, set out early Wednesday morning towards the world's highest peak on the China–Nepal border.”
Qomolangma, which translates to goddess of sky, is a Tibetan name for Everest which is known as Sagarmatha in Nepal.
The Chinese expedition team has successfully installed an automatic meteorological monitoring station at an altitude of 8,800 meter, about 48 meters below the summit point. Chinese media have described it as a major breakthrough for conducting a comprehensive scientific research operation at the summit. The goal is to study the impact of climate change in the Himalayas.
According to media reports, China had installed weather stations in three different points of the mountain– 7028 meters, 7790 meters and 8300 meters last year.
With the temperatures rising, Mount Everest has become a zero ground for climate change. Recent scientific researches show Everest ice is melting faster than predicted.
A recent analysis of the ice core drilled from South Col Glacier at an altitude of 8,000 meters showed that the ice that took 2,000 years to form has melted in around 25 years as the Nepal side of the peak continues to lose decades worth of ice every year.
China has not allowed foreigners to climb Everest since 2019 although some Chinese teams have climbed the peak, especially for scientific experiments .
Meanwhile, on the southern side, Sherpas are waiting for favorable weather to fix ropes to the summit. According to Khimlal Gautam, liaison officer at the base camp, the climbing rope has been fixed up to the South Col.
A total of 316 climbers have taken permits to climb the peak, according to Nepal's Department of Tourism.
