Nepal Goes to New Heights to Highlight Glacial Melting

Published November 04, 2009 @ 06:00AM PT

Like the government of the Maldives, which held a cabinet meeting underwater to point out the threat the country faces from rising sea levels, the government of Nepal is going to extremes to alert the world about alarming glacial melt in the Himalayas.

The Associated Press reports that Nepal's Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal and other members of the country's cabinet will convene on Mount Everest to highlight the dangers of lakes created by melting glaciers, which threaten to drown villages below.

The meeting will take place at the 17,400-foot (5,300-meter) high Everest base camp, which the officials will reach by plane. They have scheduled the gathering just prior to the Copenhagen climate summit in December, when world leaders will discuss coordinated action on global warming.

Glaciers across the Tibetan plateau -- where 15,000 of them spike the landscape -- are melting at what DiscoveryNews calls a "stunning rate." Not only does this create flooding dangers, but it has the potential the interfere with the water supply of the entirety of South Asia.

It seems a shame that the Nepali officials will burn so much fossil fuel flying up there. I know they don't have the time or, probably, the skills or inclination to climb up, but just think what a strong point they could make if they hoofed it.

Photo of Molgolian glaciologists displaying "350" in support of climate action courtesy of 350.org via flickr

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Author

Katherine Gustafson is a freelance writer and editor with a background in international nonprofit organizations. Her articles, essays, and stories have been published in numerous magazines, newspapers, books, and Websites.