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Himalayan mission provides unwelcome proof: glaciers are dying
Inching over the treacherous surface of the Rathong glacier, almost 16,400ft high in the eastern Himalayas, Dr. Shresth Tayal stooped to inspect a 7 meter steel rod he buried vertically in the ice six months ago.
After a decade studying Himalayan glaciers, he had expected to find at least half the rod exposed–an alarming enough indication of how fast the Rathong is melting–but even he was surprised by what he found last week.
"Six meters in six months," he cried, breathing hard in the thin mountain air as The Times and the rest of his team stepped gingerly between hidden crevasses and gushing rivulets of freshly melted ice.
"It's pathetic," he said. "The glacier is dying."
Rubbing his hands to ward off the cold, he then tried to fire up a gas-powered drill to plant another 7m rod, but the gas pipe was blocked and with the light fading fast and the clouds rolling in, the team turned back to base camp.