If Near-Tropical Solar Exposure Hits Everest Glaciers As Scientists Suspect, More Trouble For Himalayan Nations
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The earlier research from 2016-19 found that ice temperatures in Khumbu Glacier, the world’s highest debris-covered glacier, were warmer than expected. It involved drilling holes for 200 metres and the study indicated that the minimum temperature was minus 3.3 °C which prompted a concern. Given the annual average temperatures at Camps 1 and 2 on the Everest slopes are around minus 9 or 10°C, the ice temperatures at Khumbu were expected to be similar.
The current working hypothesis is that strong solar radiation in the Western Cwm is sufficient to warm the ice by several degrees, at the point of formation. So in this round of study, the team plan to place the sensors at a shallower depth of 15 metres. “We are hoping to be able to show that when the sun is heating the glacier, the meltwater percolates into the snow and refreezes and that’s what heats the snow and ice,” said Quincey. If the researchers can show that this effect is real, it means, said Quincey, that at the moment researchers are not really modelling forward in the correct way. “We are making projections that tell people, aid agencies, governments how long these glaciers are going to survive but we don’t account for this process (melting and refreezing). If the glaciers are warmer than we have been able to understand previously, they will melt faster than currently predicted. So we need to take our observations and incorporate them into future simulations which can indicate how long these glaciers will survive.”
Further, the seasonal melt water which downstream communities rely on may not last for as long as it was previously estimated. This foretells “a period of extreme climate crisis in terms of shortages and extreme events which will be in the nearer future than we’ve previously realised,” Quincey pointed out.
The processes at high elevations define the glacier characteristics all the way down. “If this ice is warmer than we imagined, it will explain the recession rates of these glaciers which are melting at a rate which is beyond historic precedence,” he said. “That’s likely because the ice is at a warmer temperature than we have accounted for. This has knock-on consequences for those who rely on the meltwater that comes from these glaciers, but also in terms of the formation of the glacial lakes which is affecting the whole of the Himalayan region.”
EDIT
https://india.mongabay.com/2025/04/digging-into-icy-depths-to-understand-glacial-melt/