| THE SOURCE OF THE MEKONG: THE BIRTH OF AN INTERNATIONAL RIVER (33°42'38.8"N 94°41'45.4"E) The CERS expedition to the source of the Mekong in 2007 highlighted the environmental changes at the source of this truly international river. Changing climate and land use at the source of the Mekong flow downstream to affect millions of people living along its banks in six countries. 33°42'38.8" 94°41'45.4", 12:45, 13 May 2007 |
AT THE SOURCE OF THE MEKONG
Wong How Man
Mekong Source, Zadoi, Qinghai - 13 May 2007
Frozen Bytes - Technology struggling with the coldWe are at our most forward camp, near 5,000 meters. Most of the computers we brought along are not working – they are frozen, literally. Although I have kept mine inside my sleeping bag to keep it warm, the extended battery that usually delivers at least six hours of power is showing only half of that capacity. This is to be expected in such extreme climate. Even my most energetic team members are slowing as they expend calories trying to keep warm. It is in the middle of May, but when I awoke at 6 am, I found an overnight storm had deposited a 10-centimeter carpet of fluffy white snow on our campsite.