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News18
6 days ago
- Sport
- News18
International Mount Everest Day: Why Climbing Mount Everest Remains A Monumental Achievement?
International Mount Everest Day: This day commemorates the first successful ascent by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953. International Mount Everest Day: May 29 is observed as International Mount Everest Day to commemorate the first successful ascent of the world's highest peak. On this day in 1953, Sir Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa of Nepal made history by reaching the 8,848-meter (29,029 ft) summit of Mount Everest. The day not only recognises the courage and determination of these pioneering climbers but also celebrates the spirit of mountaineering, human endurance, and the cultural and environmental significance of the Everest region. This year, let's take a moment to reflect on the historic climb, its lasting global impact, and why summiting Everest continues to be one of the most awe-inspiring feats in human history. International Mount Everest Day 2025: History Climbing Mount Everest was an achievement for Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay that left the world spellbound. Despite facing frostbite, storms, and high-altitude exhaustion with basic mountaineering gear, the climbers managed to achieve this feat. After Hillary's death in 2008, the Government of Nepal declared the day as International Everest Day. This decision was made to not only honour the summit but also to celebrate their legacy, perseverance, and collaboration between diverse cultures united to achieve one singular objective. International Mount Everest Day 2025: Significance Moreover, International Everest Day sheds light on the vital role Everest tourism plays in Nepal's economy. It also serves as a call to action for promoting sustainable and responsible mountaineering practices. The occasion provides a critical platform to address growing environmental concerns in the Himalayas, including climate change, glacial retreat and the urgent need for improved waste management on the mountain. International Mount Everest Day 2025: Quotes 'Climbing to the top demands strength, whether it is to the top of Mount Everest or to the top of your career."– APJ Abdul Kalam 'Everest for me, and I believe for the world, is the physical and symbolic manifestation of overcoming odds to achieve a dream." – Tom Whittaker 'I don't think you can climb Mount Everest with a broken leg, but I did break my leg prior to going to Mount Everest, so I was really climbing with a healing broken leg. I had the good fortune of climbing the highest mountain on each of the seven continents."– Gary Johnson 'Qualifying for the Olympic Games was one of those moments where you just cry because it was like you've climbed Mount Everest."– Natalie du Toit 'I have climbed my mountain, but I must still live my life."– Tenzing Norgay Why Climbing Mount Everest Remains A Monumental Achievement? Decades after Hillary and Norgay's pioneering ascent, summiting Mount Everest remains one of the world's most formidable and captivating challenges. Extreme Altitude: Above 5,000 meters, the air becomes dangerously thin with critically low oxygen levels, severely affecting cognitive function. Everest climbers face breathlessness and symptoms of altitude sickness such as headaches, fatigue, dizziness, stomach issues, and sleep disturbances. Treacherous Terrain: The Khumbu Icefall presents a deadly challenge with its shifting ice blocks, deep crevasses, steep ice walls, and exposed ridges, demanding expert navigation and caution. Unpredictable Weather: Sudden blizzards, hurricane-force winds, low air pressure, intense UV radiation, and extreme cold make weather one of the most unpredictable and dangerous factors on Everest. Constant Dangers: Avalanches and rockfalls loom as ever-present threats, capable of causing catastrophic outcomes. Despite advancements in climbing gear, weather forecasting, and logistical support, climbing Mount Everest demands rigorous preparation and often luck. Altitude sickness, bad weather, high winds, and considerable risks linked with avalanches and the dangerous Khumbu Icefall can often be significant obstacles for climbers. First Published: May 29, 2025, 07:20 IST News lifestyle International Mount Everest Day: Why Climbing Mount Everest Remains A Monumental Achievement?
Scoop
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
‘On Thin Ice': UN Chief Sounds Alarm Over Rapid Himalayan Glacier Melt
16 May 2025 António Guterres issued the warning in a video message to the inaugural Sagarmatha Sambaad, or 'Everest Dialogue,' convened by the Government of Nepal in Kathmandu. ' Record temperatures have meant record glacier melt,' he said. 'Nepal today is on thin ice – losing close to one-third of its ice in just over thirty years. And your glaciers have melted 65 per cent faster in the last decade than in the one before.' Named after Mount Everest (Sagarmatha in Nepali), the international platform convened ministers, parliamentarians, climate experts, and civil society to focus on climate change, mountain ecosystems, and sustainability. Two billion futures at stake Glaciers in the region have served for centuries as vital freshwater reservoirs. Their accelerated melt now threatens not only local communities but vast populations downstream who rely on Himalayan-fed rivers. Reduced water flow in river systems such as the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Indus threatens not only water but also food production for nearly two billion people across South Asia. Combined with saltwater intrusion, this could trigger collapsing deltas and mass displacement, the UN chief warned. 'We would see low-lying countries and communities erased forever,' he said. Children raise their voices Ahead of the summit, Nepal's children and youth stepped into the spotlight with their own call to action. In a declaration submitted to the dialogue, over 100 children and young people demanded urgent and inclusive climate action that recognizes them as rights-holders and climate actors – not just passive victims. Among their key demands: ensuring child participation in climate decisions, supporting youth-led programmes, and promoting their innovations and climate action. ' The climate crisis is a child rights crisis – disproportionately impacting their health, nutrition, education and well-being,' said Alice Akunga, head of the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Nepal, which supported the deliberations. 'Listening to the voices of the 'future of humanity' is critical to designing and implementing meaningful and lasting solutions to address the adverse effects of climate change on children and youth.' Stop the madness In his message, Mr. Guterres reiterated his call on the world to 'stop the madness' of fossil fuel-driven global warming, a warning he made during his previous visit to the Everest region in 2023. At the time, he stood amid glacial basins in the Himalayas, warning that the 'rooftops of the world' were rapidly vanishing. 'And that is why you are gathered together focused on Sambaad – dialogue,' the UN chief said on Friday, applauding Nepal's climate leadership, including reforestation programmes, early warning systems and its goal to achieve net-zero emissions by 2045. Act now The world must act without delay to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C, he continued – the target set by the Paris Agreement on climate change – with the biggest emitters leading the way. This includes investing in renewable energy, fulfilling the $1.3 trillion climate finance goal agreed at COP29, doubling adaptation finance to at least $40 billion this year as pledged by developed countries, and providing robust, sustained support to the Loss and Damage Fund. ' Achieving these goals demands bold collaboration, ' Mr. Guterres concluded. 'The United Nations is your ally in this essential task.'
India.com
19-05-2025
- India.com
Nepal Asks Citizens To Carry Valid Documents While Travelling Via India
Nepal on Monday warned its citizens travelling to Gulf countries through India against using fake documents, citing increased detentions by immigration authorities. Nepali Embassy in India urged the Nepali citizens travelling to foreign countries for employment to obtain labour approval (Labour Permit) and No Objection Certificates (NOCs) from Nepal's Department of Foreign Employment or the embassy in New Delhi. It further mentioned that without obtaining the NOC, travel will not be permitted. In an advisory issued, the embassy stated that it has come to the attention of the Government of Nepal through concerned authorities in India that the number of people travelling via Indian airports to Gulf countries without obtaining labour approval NOCs from the Department of Foreign Employment has been increasing. The embassy warned citizens against using forged documents, citing that several Nepali citizens have faced interrogation, detention, and even been barred from flying. Last year, the Nepal Embassy eased NOC requirements for migrant workers using Indian airports, stating that Nepali citizens holding a valid foreign employment permit issued by the Department of Foreign Employment were not required to obtain a NOC when travelling through Indian airports. The embassy, in its notice in November, specified that other travellers heading to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Bahrain, Iraq, Libya, and Lebanon via Indian airports must secure an NOC. Additionally, those travelling to Russia, except for recipients of scholarships from the Russian government and business visa holders, must obtain an NOC from the embassy or the Department of Consular Services of Nepal. According to a report in the leading Nepalese daily, The Kathmandu Post, the rapid rise in economic woes and unemployment in Nepal is leading more people to travel to foreign countries in a desperate search for work. Last year, official figures revealed that more than 300,000 Nepalis have gone abroad, most of them to the Gulf states and Malaysia, on a work visa.
Hindustan Times
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
View from the Himalaya: India expects a firm stand on terrorism from Nepal
It is an everyday story of tens of thousands of Nepalis in the Terai plains. Countless numbers cross the open border – for work, shopping, tourism (including medical tourism), to meet family members, for pilgrimage and for many more reasons. One of the 26 killed in the terror attack in Pahalgam on April 22 was a young Nepali. A resident of Rupandehi district on the border with Uttar Pradesh, Sudip Neupane had travelled with his sister and brother-in-law to Kashmir on a 'spontaneous' visit. Butwal, his home town, is only six hours away from Lucknow, four hours from Ayodhya and three hours from Gorakhpur. Nepal unequivocally condemned the attack. Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli spoke with Prime Minister Narendra Modi the next day, both expressing condolences to each other for the lives lost. On April 30, Vijay Chauthaiwale, in-charge of the foreign affairs department of the Bharatiya Janata Party and a familiar face in political circles in Kathmandu, landed in Nepal. He met three key figures in office – Prime Minister Oli, home minister Ramesh Lekhak and foreign minister Arzu Deuba. He also paid courtesy calls to three former prime ministers – Sher Bahadur Deuba, Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Madhav Kumar Nepal, all of whom also head their parties. The visit (and concurrent diplomatic exchanges) stressed on three key points, according to multiple insiders. That India will make military strikes on Pakistan – the date, nature and scale remained undisclosed; India wants its South Asian neighbours, and Nepal indeed, to realise they are an integral part of fight against terrorism; and there could be some pro-Pakistani protests in pockets in Terai should there be an escalation. When India launched Operation Sindoor in the early hours on May 7, Kathmandu had by then seen a flurry of diplomatic and political engagements. On May 8, the foreign ministry issued a statement. 'The Government of Nepal,' it said, 'is deeply concerned about the escalating tensions between India and Pakistan, following terrorist attacks on innocent tourists in Pahalgam…in which a Nepali national also had lost his precious life. During this tragic period, Nepal and India stand in solidarity, united in shared grief and suffering.' Some expressed disappointment that Nepal had failed to name and unequivocally condemn Pakistan and support the Indian move, given the fact that a Nepali had also been killed and another injured in the terrorist attack. Others argued that Nepal had already condemned the Pahalgam attack and there was no need to issue a statement in the fog of border skirmishes, and claims and counterclaims. Some others said, neither India nor Pakistan was happy with the statement and Nepal could have chosen to stay silent ('strategic ambiguity'), not least as the current Saarc chair. The ongoing ceasefire ('cessation of hostilities', in Delhi's viewpoint) offers political space for reflection on the consequential Indian position vis-à-vis its South Asian neighbours and also their own response to India's. Nepal is a hard place to be. It has been historically plagued by small-state insecurities on the one hand and the need to stand with India against an act of terrorism and a fast-changing geopolitical context on the other. Here are some facts playing out on the ground. None of Nepal's senior political leaders have yet visited Sandeep Neupane's family, including finance minister Bishnu Poudel, who comes from PM's Oli party, the CPN-UML, a Communist party. Poudel, as importantly, is elected from that part of the country. New Delhi, meanwhile, has asked Nepal to demonstrate a firm position against what it regards as Pakistan-sponsored terrorism, calling for a serious review of the traditional Nepali approach of treating India and Pakistan on a similar diplomatic footing. 'It should not be treated as business as usual' matter, which concludes with 'boiler-plate statements', says an Indian diplomat. 'Western and European powers can issue such platitudes', not those in the subcontinent. Nepal's 'mixed response' is, among others, rooted in its history. The idea that Nepal should consider itself a 'Yam between two boulders' has deeply influenced its national imagination since the 'unifier king' Prithivi Narayan imagined modern-day Nepal. The decades-long effort in the 18th century was a combination of conquests, guile and diplomacy, which subjugated more than 50 smaller states. Nepal, until the early 19th century, remained a major regional player. In very recent history, Kathmandu has housed the Saarc secretariat since 1987. Hence its default diplomatic position on thorny bilateral issues between India and Pakistan – both Saarc members – has been one of neutrality. That said, Nepalis are mindful of the fact that India has since grown to be the fifth-largest economy, poised to be the third largest and is governed by a Hindu revivalist party since 2013. New Delhi enjoys substantive diplomatic leverage in corridors of power in Kathmandu in bilateral forums. India is Nepal's largest trading partner and Indian ports are transit points to most of Nepal's trade, including with China. On multilateral forums in the region and beyond, India's diplomatic heft is far greater than that of the much troubled Pakistan. Will Pahalgam be the inflection point? Other than New Delhi, other powers – not least Beijing - are keeping a close eye on the developments in the neighbourhood. Akhilesh Upadhyay is former Editor-in-Chief of The Kathmandu Post and a Senior Fellow at Center for Strategic Affairs at IIDS, a Kathmandu-based think tank. Views expressed are personal. Get 360° coverage—from daily headlines to 100 year archives.
Time of India
12-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
India gifts 15 EVs to Nepal, facilitating effective organisation of Sagarmatha Sambad
As a significant gesture of friendship and goodwill, Ambassador of India to Nepal , Naveen Srivastava, handed over 15 electric vehicles to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Government of Nepal, Arzu Rana Deuba . As per the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu, it is "a gift of India for logistical support to the Government of Nepal for facilitating the effective organization of the first edition of the 'Sagarmatha Sambaad' in Kathmandu on 16-18 May 2025 on the theme of 'Climate Change, Mountains and the Future of Humanity'." These vehicles are being handed over at the request of the Government of Nepal and would prove to be useful in further augmenting the logistical arrangements for conducting the Sambaad. Speaking at the handover ceremony, the Ambassador noted that these vehicles would help facilitate the movement of guests and officials during the Sambaad. He recalled similar logistical support extended by the Government of India to the law enforcement agencies and the Election Commission of Nepal for the conduct of federal and provincial elections in 2022. The Indian Ambassador extended his best wishes to the Government and the people of Nepal for the Sambaad and reaffirmed India's continued commitment to partnering with Nepal to promote mutual progress and development. Receiving the vehicles on behalf of the Government of Nepal, the Minister of Foreign Affairs expressed gratitude for India's support for facilitating the organisation of Sambaad. She acknowledged India's role as one of Nepal's oldest and largest development partners. India and Nepal enjoy a multi-faceted and multi-sectoral development partnership that is reflective of the closeness of the people of both countries. The extension of these logistical provisions reflects the continued support of the Government of India for contributing to the development of people-to-people links. (ANI)
