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Bright heavens, calm breezes and a breathtaking view of Himalayan summits draped in snow - this describes the autumn experience that hikers on the world's highest peak have come to love.

But this seems to be changing.

Shifting Weather Patterns

Weather experts indicate the rainy season now extends into autumn, which is historically the high-altitude tourism season.

Throughout this prolonged tail end of the rainy season, they have recorded at least one occurrence of heavy precipitation nearly every year for the past ten years, with high-altitude weather becoming more hazardous.

Recent Emergency on Everest

Last weekend, a sudden blizzard stranded several hundred of travelers near the east-facing side of Everest for days in bitterly cold temperatures at an altitude of more than 4,900m.

Nearly six hundred hikers were escorted to security by the conclusion of Tuesday, according to sources.

A single person had succumbed from extreme cold and altitude sickness, but the others were said to be in good condition.

Comparable Incidents Across the Region

This was on the northern slope but a comparable situation had unfolded on the Nepal side, where a South Korean mountaineer died on another Himalayan summit.

The world found out much later because communications were affected by torrential rains and heavy snowfall.

Authorities estimate that mudslides and sudden floods in the country have killed approximately 60 individuals over the past seven days.

"It is very unusual for autumn when we anticipate the weather to remain clear," commented an experienced mountain guide.

Business Impact

Considering this is the preferred season, regular storms like these have "affected our mountaineering and climbing industry," he added.

The rainy period in the Indian subcontinent and the Himalayan nation usually lasts from June to mid-September, but no longer.

"Our data indicates that most of the years in the previous ten years have had rainy seasons continuing until the middle of autumn, which is definitely a shift," explained a senior weather expert.

Increasing Weather Extremes

Even more worrying is the heavy rain and snow the tail end of the season produces, like it did this time on 4 and 5 October.

High in the mountain range, such severe weather means blizzards and winter storms, which represents a significant danger for hiking, mountaineering and tourism.

Firsthand Experiences

Exactly what occurred recently when the weather shifted quite abruptly - the air currents began roaring, temperatures dropped sharply and visibility decreased drastically.

The road that had comfortably brought the trekkers to what should have been a stunning resting point was now buried in snow and impossible to traverse.

Still, one trekker, who had hiked these mountains more than a dozen occasions, said he had "never experienced weather like these" before.

Expert Explanations

One major factor is the higher quantity of moisture in the air because of how the planet has been heating up, researchers say.

This has led to heavy precipitation over a brief period of duration, frequently after a prolonged dry spell – in contrast to in the previous era when seasonal rains were distributed uniformly over the entire season.

A Turbocharged Monsoon

Climate specialists report the rainy seasons in the region at times seem to have become more intense because they are increasingly interacting with an additional weather system, the western weather pattern.

This is a low pressure system that forms in the Mediterranean area and travels east - it transports chillier temperatures that causes rains and sometimes snow to the subcontinent, neighboring countries and Nepal.

Climate Change Effects

Researchers have also discovered that in a warming world, the increasing relationship between western weather systems and seasonal rains is producing another unusual result.

The hotter atmosphere is forcing the weather systems to greater altitudes, which indicates these atmospheric conditions are now capable to cross the mountain barrier and reach the Tibetan plateau and other regions that did not see so much precipitation before.

"The transformation is the reliability of patterns; we cannot presume that conditions will occur the identical from year to year," commented an experienced mountain leader.

"That means adaptable scheduling, immediate decision-making, and knowledgeable leadership [in the Himalayas] have become increasingly important."