Mt Everest's snow cover receded by 150 mts this winter, satellite images reveal

Snow cover atop Mount Everest retreated by 150 metres indicating a lack of snow accumulation during the winter season of 20242025 researchers have notedAnalysing NASA satellite images from October 2023 till early January 2025 trends illustrated a rise in snow line through January in both 2024 and 2025 glaciologist Mauri Pelto a professor of environmental science at Nichols College US wrote in a blog post on February 2At 8849 metres above sea level Mount Everest is the tallest point on Earth The Himalayan peak is located between Nepal and TibetSnow line refers to the boundary or elevation at which snow permanently stays on a mountain A rising snow line in which snow melts at lower heights forcing the snow line boundary up a mountainside is suggestive of a warming climatePelto said that warmer and drier conditions have been prevailing in recent winters including those of 2021 2023 2024 and 2025 which are driving a reduced snow cover higher snow lines and increased forest firesWhile the region saw a few small snow events early in each winter the snow cover does not persist suggesting that glaciers have continued to retreat even above 6000 metres on Mount Everest he saidSnow cover loss during winter at these altitudes is primarily the result of sublimation where ice directly evaporates with losses observed up to 25 millimetres daily Pelto added Sublimation is said to significantly contribute to the loss in overall mass of a glacier causing it to retreatIn December 2024 Nepal saw 2025 per cent of normal with drier conditions in the east accompanied by above average temperatures This resulted in extreme drought in several provinces including Koshi Province the glaciologist saidHe observed that January 2025 has continued to be dry with consistently warm conditions thereby enabling high snow lines to persist and rise from early December into early February 2025The average snow line on Mount Everest Region glaciers on January 28 2025 is 6100 metres 150 metres higher than on December 11 2024 Pelto wroteThe blog post was an update to that written in May 2024 which noted a limited snow cover persisting since November 2023The glaciologist explained that the 20232024 winter season was different because the high snow lines of 202021 were a result of an extraordinary January heat wave there was no heat wave this timeInstead above normal temperature and a lack of any significant precipitation were critical to the outcome of rising snow line with less than 25 millimetres of precipitation at Everest Base Camp during January 1 March 31 2024 Pelto saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever