Webcam installed at Mt Everest

Kathmandu - 10 Oct 2011 (PTI): A webcam has been installed at the world's highest point to get live view of Mt. Everest to study more accurately the effects of climate change on the tallest peak.

The scientists have installed the webcam at Kalapatthar, near the base camp of Mt. Everest, at an altitude of 5,675 metres to study the effects of climate change more accurately.

The solar powered camera installed by the scientists will withstand temperatures as low as minus 30C and operate during the daytime.

Now the image and data of the 8,848 metres peak can accessed directly through Internet.

The German surveillance firm Mobotix, the pioneer in network camera technology, developed device has been installed at an altitude more than 1-km higher than the earlier record for a high-altitude webcam set by a 4,389 metres altitude camera on the Mount Aconcagua in Argentina.

"We spent months developing the perfect set-up for the installation and invested a lot of time testing and verifying the system, said Giampietro Kohl of Ev-K2-CNR, the mountain research group that installed the camera.

"It inspired us on to set a record: operating the highest webcam in the world, he pointed out.

The image taken by the camera is updated every five minutes. The camera also allows climatologists to track the movement of the clouds around the mountain's peak.

"Researchers selected Kala Patthar as the camera location because it offers an excellent view of the western side of Mount Everest, including the north and southwest faces of the mountain and the West Ridge," Mobotix spokesperson said in a statement.