Bhubaneswar: The highest glacier on Mount Everest, World's highest mountain, is melting at a rapid pace due to climate change.

According to a new study led by the University of Maine, the ice on the South Col glacier has shrunk drastically in last three decades.

The researchers found that the glacier has already lost more than 180 feet (54 metres) of thickness in the last 25 years.

The study published in February this year by Nature showed that South Col glacier, which is around 7,906 metres (25,938 feet) above the sea level, is shrinking 80 times faster than the time it took to form on the surface.

The scientists blamed on climate change and strong winds for the rate of decline of ice on the glacier.

The researchers in the study raised concern stating that the ice that took around 2,000 years to form on the surface has melted away since 1990s.

"If such trend continues, South Col may disappear within very few decades," a researcher on climate change said.

The scientists leading the study observed that the rapid melting of glacier could lead to a wide variety of complications for civilians.

"Rock is exposed in areas that are covered with thick snow before. Apart from Everest, other mountains are also losing their ice and it's a part of concern," a researcher said.

Notably, millions of people living around the mountains and river valleys depend on the Himalayan glaciers for water. If other glaciers on Himalayan mountain range and worldwide melt at an accelerating rate like Everest's, the civilians would struggle for drinking water and irrigation could fall significantly.

The decline of ice on the glaciers could also pose a challenge for mountaineers as they could stumble upon more bedrock on their way making it more difficult to scale.