KATHMANDU: Austrian President Heinz Fischer has received a piece of rock brought from Mount Everest by renowned summiteers Apa and Dawa Sherpa in Vienna.

According to WWF Nepal the duo also handed over a letter from the Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal to the President.

The Sherpas were visiting the President as part of their European expedition under the WWF Nepal's Climate for Life Campaign, an initiative to raise the profile of the Himalayas in the global climate debate.

Meanwhile, WWF stated quoting Andreas Wurzer, deputy CEO WWF Austria, "The industrialised nations are the main perpetrators of climate change it is therefore urgent that Austria also takes the responsibility of CO2 reductions at national level and support adaptation measures of the developing countries that suffer most from the consequences of climate change.” It also quoted Apa, who conquered the Everest 19 times as saying, "Climate change is already a reality in Nepal. We first saw mosquitoes in Namche Bazaar at almost 3,500 meters, and even flies at the base camp which is at 5,360 meters."

Furthermore, researches have shown that loss of the third largest ice mass on earth, has been threatening the existence 1.3 billion lives in Asia. Earlier in April, PM Nepal had sent a rock piece from the Everest to US President Barack Obama.