According to a new study, the highest glacier on Mount Everest has been melting at a rapid pace, courtesy climate change.
In last 25 years, the South Col Glacier has already lost over 180ft (54m) thickness. The research has been led by the experts of University of Maine.
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Located around 7,906m (25,938 ft) above sea-level, the glacier is melting 80 times faster than usual.
The rise in temperatures and strong winds have been blamed for this development.
Since 1990s, the ice, which formed in around 2,000 years, has melted away, the study found.
Dr Mariusz Potocki, one of the lead researchers of the study, said that the findings suggested “that the South Col Glacier may be on the way out – it may already be a ‘relic’ from an older, colder, time”.
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Dr Tom Matthews, another author of the report and a climate scientist from Kings College London, told BBC that there had been no change in the climate of the region to trigger the surge in melting.
“Instead, the steady uptick in temperatures eventually pushes the glacier across a threshold, and suddenly everything changes,” Matthews said.
(With inputs from agencies)
