Nepal
Climate change impacts
It takes only 24 days for the average Canadian to produce as much greenhouse gases as the average Nepali will produce over the course of the entire year. Therefore, January 24th (24 days into the year) is "Climate Change Impacts in Nepal Day."
“UNEP has warned that more than 40 Himalayan glacial lakes are dangerously close to bursting because of the ice melt caused by global warming. Rapidly melting glaciers means more seasonal variation in river flow, which will in turn result in more floods and draughts in the country. This will also result in more Glacier Lake Outburst Floods (GLOF), which can be disastrous to communities and infrastructure along the rivers. Other impacts of climate change can be reduced agriculture production, loss of biodiversity, increased desertification and changes in social structure.”
For more information on climate change impacts in Nepal, check out Clean Energy Nepal’s factsheet, Climate Change: A Nepalese Perspective.
Story
"My name is Apa Sherpa. I am 49 years old and I live in Thame, a village in the Solukhumbu district of Nepal, right on the Everest trail. I’m a mountaineer by profession.
I was born and brought up in Thame and have climbed the mountains in this area for more then twenty years. My parents were yak-herders and farmers, but I went into mountaineering. I started by carrying loads for a few expeditions, then slowly became a professional mountaineer. Now, I hold the world record for climbing Mt. Everest for the most times – 19. I also lead many expeditions in this area.
During the past decades, I have observed many changes in the climate in this area. And when I also talk to the people living here I can hear about many such signs of changes. At first we didn’t realize that the changes were so severe, but then, we also did not know about anything called climate change."
To continue reading Apa’s story, visit WWF's Climate Witness page.
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