Precipitation characteristics and moisture source regions on Mt. Everest in the Khumbu, Nepal

Precipitation is critical to the water towers of the Hindu Kush-Himalaya-Karakoram region, exerting an important control on glacier mass balance and the water resources for 1.65 billion people. As hydroclimatic extremes and water stress have emerged as key hazards in the context of climate change, Nepal’s Khumbu region overlaps key vulnerabilities. Here we investigate the region’s precipitation characteristics and moisture sources through analysis of data from a new high-altitude network of automatic weather stations, which allow for a more complete understanding of the climatological precipitation data that are critical information for local communities in the Khumbu region, visitors, and downstream populations. Our findings demonstrate that the northern Bay of Bengal is potentially an important moisture source during the monsoon period (June to August) and that westerly trajectories over land predominate for precipitation events during the post-monsoon, winter, and pre-monsoon seasons.