Peak moments on Mount Qomolangma

At 11 am, three hours later than scheduled, the squad arrived at the designated place at an altitude of 8,800 meters, only to find the snow was too deep for them to set up the weather station.

After reporting to the headquarters, the squad climbed for another half an hour and finally found ideal rocks at an altitude of 8,830 meters, where they spent more than an hour setting up the weather station. By 1:30 pm on May 4, all 13 members had reached the summit, and the team completed their research tasks. The team returned safely to the Mount Qomolangma base camp on May 5, with all 13 members of the expedition team in good physical condition.

Besides, more than 270 scientific research members from five teams have participated in the expedition. The glacier and pollutant research team led by Kang Shichang, a researcher with the Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources under CAS, will spend a month monitoring pollutants, the Rongbuk glacier and ice lake changes, as well as the greenhouse gas emissions from rivers and lakes covering the high-altitude area from the Mount Qomolangma base camp to the East Rongbuk glacier.

Kang says studying the changes to the glacier aims to clarify the impact of global warming, which is beneficial to mounting a global response to climate change. "Through the study of glacier changes and glacier air pollutants, we can see the impact of global and regional human activities in the Qomolangma area," Kang says.