Climate change 'is ravaging Everest'

I have never been there, but it is melting.....

The Himalayas have warmed by almost one degree centigrade since the 70s - almost twice the global average rise in temperature - according to the UN environmental programme.

More than two-thirds (67%) of the glaciers in the mountain range are in retreat, and the melting snow and ice has created huge lakes, raising fears among scientists that they could overflow into each other in a cascade effect.

If this happened, thousands of people could be killed, while Nepal's agricultural industry - on which 80% of the population relies - would be devastated. The loss of the glaciers would also reduce water flow to major rivers such as the Ganges and the Indus.

Mr Hilary, who has twice reached Everest's summit, likened the effect of glacial lakes bursting their banks to the impact of an atomic bomb, saying it was "just catastrophic".

"It is like an atomic bomb has gone off," he said. "Everywhere is rubble. The floods of the past are unfortunately nothing compared with the size of what we are currently threatened with."

(More at Guardian Unlimited)