In a historical move, scientists installed the world's highest operating automated weather station at the top of Mount Everest on May 23, 2019 just after dawn. The initiative was led by the National Geographic Society and Nepal's Tribhuvan University. Constructing the seven-foot-tall, 110-pound structure at such a high elevation is a massive feat. The station is meant to record data on temperature, humidity, pressure, wind speed, and wind direction from its position 8,000 metres above sea level. This information will simultaneously be published online.
The multi-disciplinary expedition included geologists, glaciologists, biologists, cartographers, and climate scientists, who collected samples of water, snow, and rock, installed sensors to record vegetation growth, and surveyed the landscape using high-res laser technology.
Data collected both during the expedition and in the future from the station is critical in the study of climate change. Research has shown that global warming is rapidly melting the glaciers in the Himalayan region. And these mountains are the water tanks of the planet. Around 25 percent of the world&rsquos population gets their water from the Himalayas. Researchers hope this data will help them better understand how the highest elevations of the planet are being affected by climate change
Mt. Everest is also one of only a handful of places on the planet that reaches into the little understood sub-tropical jet stream. For climate scientists, to understand the phenomenon of jet stream is of utmost importance as it influences everything from storm tracks to agricultural seasons. The weather station will provide scientists an important new tool with which to gather data about it.