Mount Everest - Environment

Environment

Atmospheric pressure comparison
Where Pressure
Olympus Mons summit 0.03 kilopascals (0.0044 psi)
Mars average 0.6 kilopascals (0.087 psi)
Hellas Planitia bottom 1.16 kilopascals (0.168 psi)
Armstrong limit 6.25 kilopascals (0.906 psi)
Mount Everest summit 33.7 kilopascals (4.89 psi)
Earth sea level 101.3 kilopascals (14.69 psi)
Dead sea level 106.7 kilopascals (15.48 psi)

Besides rubbish, the degradation on Himalayan peaks and other issues concerned long-time Everest guide and climber Apa Sherpa. He said when he first started climbing Everest, the trail to the summit was covered with ice and snow. But it is now dotted with bare rocks. The melting ice has also exposed deep crevasses, making expeditions more dangerous. Apa organized an expedition to remove 4,000 kg (8,800 lb) of rubbish from the lower part of the mountain and another 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) from higher areas.

In 2008, a new weather station at about 8000 m altitude (26,246 feet) went online. The station's first data in May 2008 was air temperature −17 °C, relative humidity 41.3%, atmospheric pressure 382.1 hPa (38.21 kPa), wind direction 262.8°, wind speed 12.8 m/s (28.6 mph), global solar radiation 711.9 watts/m2, solar UVA radiation 30.4 W/m2. The project was orchestrated by Stations at High Altitude for Research on the Environment (SHARE), who also placed the Mount Everest webcam in 2011. The weather station is located on the South Col and is solar powered.

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