Kathmandu, September 8 The mountain glacier whose collapse triggered deadly floo

From Onlinekhabar English

Kathmandu, September 8 The mountain glacier whose collapse triggered deadly floods in Nepal and China on August 26 experienced exceptionally high temperatures in the days before the disaster, according to an analysis of meteorological data by a researcher. Average temperatures at the glacier, located at an altitude of 5,200 metres, were estimated at around 5°C between August 21 and 26. That is unusually high for the time of year. Temperatures at the site had not exceeded 4°C during the same period in more than 55 years of recorded data. The localised temperature estimates were reconstructed by Robert Rohde, chief scientist at Berkeley Earth, an independent climate research organisation based in California. Rohde’s analysis found that the average temperature at the collapse site during the six-day period has increased by about 1.8°C since the mid-20th century. Without the additional warming associated with climate change, a comparable temperature pattern would probably occur only once in several thousand years, Rohde told AFP.