The Himalayas are becoming increasingly dangerous! How climate change threatens climbers

At the beginning of October, an unexpected snowstorm trapped hundreds of climbers on the slopes of Mt. Everest. This is just one example of how the warming climate is changing the reality of high-altitude tourism. Could it be that the Himalayas, increasingly trampled by tourists, have begun to defend themselves against human invasion?

Drama on Everest

On October 6 this year, China’s state news agency Xinhua reported that 580 climbers had been stranded on the eastern face of Everest due to an exceptionally strong snowstorm. They were accompanied by over 300 local guides and support staff traditionally hired for expeditions to eight-thousand-meter peaks. Eyewitness accounts cited by global media describe powerful winds and heavy snowfall that forced climbers to dig out their tents every 15 minutes.

Thanks to a well-coordinated rescue operation, the vast majority of the unlucky mountaineers were brought safely down, although many suffered from hypothermia and frostbite. On the nearby Mera Peak, weather conditions caused the death of a South Korean climber. At the same time, torrential rains in lower parts of Nepal triggered mudslides that claimed 60 lives. According to experts from Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu, rainfall over a 48-hour period reached 630 mm – the result of an unusually intense monsoon that swept in from the Bay of Bengal.

Hotter and wetter

Traditionally, the monsoon season ended in September, opening a favorable window for climbers to tackle the highest peaks at the start of the autumn season. It is the second most popular time to climb Everest, after spring. Yet over the past decade, nearly every autumn has brought exceptionally heavy rainfall, leading to flash floods, avalanches, and increased mountain hazards.

According to Archana Shrestha from Nepal’s Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, growing evidence suggests that the monsoon season now extends into mid-October, ending with particularly intense rainfall. Could this be linked to climate change?

Scientists explain that rising temperatures increase ocean evaporation, resulting in much more moisture in the atmosphere. As a result, the normal hydrological cycle becomes disrupted, and when typhoons and monsoons arrive, they are far stronger and bring record-breaking precipitation.

Akshay Deoras from the University of Reading in the UK told the BBC that monsoons increasingly collide with low-pressure systems moving in from the Mediterranean, giving them a “turbo boost.” Additionally, warmer air lifts clouds higher, allowing them to cross the Himalayas toward Tibet. Research published in 2022 in the Journal of Tropical Meteorology suggests that this process is making the Tibetan Plateau both warmer and wetter, creating conditions favorable for snowstorms.

The Himalayas becoming less accessible?

A hundred years ago, people dreamed of conquering the world’s highest mountains, but expeditions were the domain of daredevils. Since then, however, Himalayan climbing has become a lucrative business – each year, between 700 and 1,000 climbers attempt to summit Mt. Everest, with around 60–70% succeeding. This bonanza may soon come to an end, as climate change makes Himalayan conditions increasingly unpredictable – a huge risk for inexperienced climbers, regardless of their technical support.

In 2023, the Nepali government officially blamed climate change for a record number of fatalities – 18 people lost their lives on Mt. Everest that year. Joseph Shea from the University of Northern British Columbia, author of a report on the Hindu Kush and Himalayas, believes that many popular routes to the world’s highest peak are becoming dangerous due to glacier retreat and instability. Drilling conducted in the Khumbu Glacier near Everest Base Camp indicates that it is close to total degradation.

Elsewhere, vast crevasses are opening along mountain ridges, and melting snow is increasing the risk of avalanches and rockfalls. For Nepal’s communities, who depend on high-altitude tourism for their livelihoods, this growing danger could deal a serious economic blow. The Himalayas themselves, however, might benefit – the crowds of climbers and the waste they bring have done little good for these fragile mountain ecosystems.