In the Andes, glaciers are shrinking fast, endangering millions
Al Jazeera
On a clear day, Chile’s towering 5,400-metre (17,700-foot) El Plomo mountain can be seen from the capital, Santiago. The glacier-capped Andean peak has been climbed and revered for centuries, with the Incas carrying out human sacrifices at the summit.
The route to the top is still the same path paved by the Incas, with archaeological remnants scattered along the way. An Incan mummy was found near the summit in 1954, perfectly preserved due to the mountain’s dry and cold conditions.
Now the mountain is crumbling. Rising global temperatures due to climate change have led the glacier to retreat and the permafrost to melt. New lagoons have formed and ruptured, landslides have injured climbers and massive sinkholes have opened up, breaking up the ancient path to the summit.
“Every year things are changing more. Every year there’s more sadness,” said Francisco Gallardo, a 60-year-old muleteer who has worked on the mountain since he was 14, at the Federacion base camp, about 1,300m (4,265ft) below the summit.
Gallardo said his family has been working at El Plomo for generations, but he thinks they have about a decade left before they are forced to move.
