RANAU: Climbers on Mount Kinabalu are being greeted by the sight of a ‘crystal forest’, as plants and trees in the Panalaban area here have become encased in ice after temperatures dropped to -2 degrees Celsius.
Kinabalu Park manager Yassin Miki said the ice phenomenon began at around 5am yesterday.
"This is a normal phenomenon, when cold weather during the dry season causes small vegetation near the river or pools of water to be covered with ice.
"This occurs several times a year and does not last long. Once the sun rises, the ice will melt and the plants will return to its original form," he added.
According to Yassin, the ice forms along the mountain’s slopes, at the 6.5km to 8km point.
"This incident is similar to previous ones, when pools of water near the summit were covered with layers of ice, but this is lasting longer.
"It happens every year and climbers use the opportunity to take pictures of the 'ice forest'," he added.
The ice phenomenon went viral yesterday when ‘Suhaimi Danin’ uploaded photos of ice-covered plants to his Facebook page. The images have since been shared by more than 2 million netizens.
