Clear skies, calm winds and a panoramic view of Himalayan peaks draped in snow - that is the autumn hikers on Mount Everest have come to love.
But that seems to be changing.
Meteorologists say monsoon now stretches into autumn, traditionally mountain tourism season. Over the past decade, at least one episode of extreme rainfall has been recorded almost every year during this period, making mountain weather increasingly dangerous.
Last weekend, a shock blizzard stranded hundreds of tourists near Everest, with nearly 600 trekkers guided to safety by the end of Tuesday. Reports indicate that one person died from hypothermia and altitude sickness, while others were in good condition.
Similar conditions were reported on the Nepal side, where a South Korean mountaineer died on Mera Peak. Torrential rains and heavy snowfall disrupted communication lines, complicating rescue efforts and resulting in an estimated 60 fatalities from landslides and flash floods in Nepal due to the unusual weather.
Mountain guide Riten Jangbu Sherpa highlighted the increasing frequency of extreme weather events, noting that they have hampered trekking and mountaineering businesses, which rely on clear autumn skies.
October, typically characterized by stable weather, has seen prolonged monsoon conditions, with four out of ten recent years extending into the second week of October.
Archana Shrestha from Nepal's department of hydrology and meteorology confirmed that recent precipitation patterns reflect a significant change as heavy rain and snow no longer follow historical norms.
This autumn's weather event exacerbated risks for climbers, making blizzards and snowstorms more common and affecting tourism in the region.
Organized expeditions like that of Mingma Sherpa, who temporarily retreated from the Cho Oyu peak due to incomprehensible snowfall, emphasize the shifting dynamics climbers must now navigate.
Climate scientists have linked the increasingly erratic weather patterns to the interaction between monsoons and westerly disturbances, which have become more common in the region. This has led to not only unusual weather phenomena in the Himalayas but also an alteration of precipitation behavior affecting neighboring regions such as Tibet.
As the Himalayas' weather continues to evolve unpredictably, climbers, trekkers, and tourism operators are left with an urgent need for rapid adaptability and real-time decision-making, conditions which have dramatically altered their operations in the once-reliable Autumn season.
