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Bright heavens, gentle winds and a panoramic vista of Himalayan summits draped in white powder - this describes the fall experience that hikers on Mount Everest have come to love.

However that seems to be shifting.

Changing Weather Patterns

Meteorologists indicate the rainy season now stretches into fall, which is traditionally the mountain travel season.

Throughout this prolonged tail end of monsoon, they have documented at least one occurrence of extreme precipitation almost every year for the past decade, with high-altitude weather becoming increasingly hazardous.

Recent Emergency on Everest

Recently, a sudden snowstorm trapped several hundred of tourists near the east-facing side of Mount Everest for multiple days in bitterly cold conditions at an altitude of more than 4,900m.

Almost six hundred hikers were guided to security by the end of that week, according to sources.

A single person had died from extreme cold and mountain sickness, but the others were said to be in good health.

Similar Incidents Across the Region

This was on the northern side but something similar had occurred on the Nepal slope, where a Korean mountaineer died on another Himalayan summit.

The international community learned after some delay because communications were affected by heavy downpours and heavy snowfall.

Officials estimate that landslides and flash floods in the region have killed approximately sixty people over the previous seven days.

"It is very unusual for October during which we expect the skies to stay clear," said an experienced mountain guide.

Business Consequences

Given this is the favored period, frequent extreme weather events like these have "disrupted our mountaineering and climbing business," he added.

The rainy period in northern India and Nepal usually continues from early summer to early autumn, but no longer.

"Our data demonstrates that the majority of the annual cycles in the previous decade have had monsoons lasting until the middle of October, which is definitely a shift," said a high-ranking weather official.

Growing Climate Severity

More concerning is the heavy rain and snowfall the tail end of the season produces, like it did this time on early October.

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

Personal Experiences

That's what happened last weekend when the conditions shifted quite abruptly - the winds began howling, mercury readings dropped sharply and sightlines dropped significantly.

The path that had comfortably brought the trekkers to what should have been a breathtaking resting point was now buried in white accumulation and extremely difficult to navigate.

Nevertheless, one trekker, who had hiked the Himalayas more than a twelve times, said he had "never encountered weather like this" before.

Expert Explanations

A primary major factor is the higher amount of moisture in the atmosphere because of how the world has been heating up, scientists explain.

That has contributed to heavy precipitation over a brief period of time, often after a extended period without rain – unlike in the past when monsoon showers were distributed evenly over the entire season.

A Turbocharged Monsoon

Climate specialists report the rainy seasons in the region at times appear to have become more intense because they are more frequently interacting with another weather system, the westerly disturbance.

This is a low pressure system that forms in the Mediterranean area and travels east - it carries chillier temperatures that brings rains and sometimes snow to northern India, neighboring countries and the Himalayan region.

Climate Warming Effects

Scientists have additionally found that in a heating planet, the increasing interaction between westerly disturbances and monsoons is producing another atypical result.

The warmer air is pushing the clouds to greater altitudes, which means these weather systems are now able to pass over the Himalayas and affect the Tibetan plateau and additional areas that previously experienced less as much rain before.

"What's changed is the predictability of patterns; we cannot presume that conditions will occur the same from season to season," commented an experienced mountain guide.

"That means adaptable scheduling, immediate choices, and experienced leadership [in the Himalayas] have become even more crucial."