Banking News – The warning about the climate crisis that United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres delivered to the world three years ago from the Everest region in Solukhumbu has once again echoed on the world stage amid the disasters currently being witnessed in Nepal. On October 30, 2023, Secretary-General Guterres, who had visited the Khumbu region of Solukhumbu, drew the world’s attention to rapidly melting glaciers and the growing climate crisis, delivering the powerful message that “the roof of the world is collapsing.”

He had stated at that time that Nepal had lost about one-third of its ice over three decades, and that the rate of glacier melt in the last decade had increased by 65 percent compared to the previous decade. He stated that since Himalayan glaciers provide fresh water to more than one billion people, their depletion is not merely a problem of the Himalayan region but a global crisis.

Secretary-General Guterres recently recalled that warning expressed from the lap of Everest three years ago while addressing the 81st United Nations General Assembly. He stated that the world must pay serious attention to the warning he gave at that time, and delivered the message that the impacts of climate change are appearing more rapidly than expected.

Recalling Guterres’ warning, tourism expert Angchhiring Sherpa said:

“Secretary-General Guterres had come to the Everest region during his Nepal visit. On that occasion, I had the opportunity to directly brief him at the Everest View Hotel in front of Everest about the climate change occurring in the Himalayan region, rapidly melting glaciers, growing glacial lakes, avalanches, and the impact on Himalayan communities and mountain tourism.”

Sherpa stated that during that meeting, an effort was made to convey to the world the message that the changes seen in the Himalayan region are not a problem of Nepal or Himalayan countries alone but a global crisis linked to the future of all humanity. “Today, as Secretary-General Guterres addresses the United Nations General Assembly, recalling that same warning and message expressed from Nepal, the moment of October 30, 2023, flashes before my eyes again,” he said.

Sherpa said the message Guterres delivered from the Everest region at that time, saying “the roof of the world is collapsing,” was not just an ordinary expression but a warning about the rapid change occurring in the Himalayas. “That sentence may have seemed like an exaggerated expression to some at the time. But today, glaciers are melting rapidly, glacial lakes are growing, new risks are being created. Avalanche and flood events are increasing,” Sherpa said.

The Himalayan community and the tourism sector are also being directly affected. “Therefore, that was not merely an emotional expression, it was a warning about the real change being witnessed in the Himalayas,” he said. Tourism expert Sherpa stated that Guterres’ message to world leaders from the base of Everest has now become even more relevant. Noting that Nepal’s mountains have given the world courage, inspiration, water, biodiversity, and natural heritage, he emphasized that the global community must also take responsible steps for mountain conservation.

In recent years, the increasing rate of glacier melt, expansion of glacial lakes, and incidents of avalanches and floods in Nepal’s Himalayan region have been increasing risks. Tourism entrepreneur Spidakaji Sherpa stated that such incidents have been affecting Himalayan settlements, infrastructure, tourism, and local livelihoods. Experts state that the impact of changes occurring in the Himalayas is not limited to Nepal alone. Since a large population and agricultural systems in South Asia dependent on the river systems originating from the Himalayas could be affected by this, changes occurring in the Himalayan region are being viewed as an important indicator of the global climate crisis.