KATHMANDU, Nepal — A team of American scientists has flown to the Mount Everest region to study how pollution has impacted the Himalayan mountains and glaciers which are melting due to global warming.

The team led by John All of Western Washington University plans to spend the next two months in the region and climb the world’s highest peak in May while they collect samples and study the ice, snow and vegetation.

The team plan to bring the samples and data and study with local university and government agencies in Nepal. They’ll compare the current data to data the professor collected on a 2009 visit.

They plan to study the colour and mineral content of the snow and ice on the mountains while collecting plans and other vegetation on the foothills.

The Associated Press