Nepal has announced planned new restrictions for climbers ascending Mount Everest aimed at improving safety and curbing overcrowding on the world’s highest peak.

A proposed law will limit permits only to climbers who have scaled at least one of the country’s 7000-metre mountains, Reuters reports.

The Nepalese government has been criticised for allowing too many inexperienced climbers to attempt an ascent of the 8449-metre Everest in the Himalayas.

During some climbing seasons, this can cause lengthy queues of climbers in the “Death Zone,” an area below the summit lacking enough natural oxygen for survival.

Experts have pinned the high death toll of climbers tackling Everest on overcrowding.

Eight died last year, at least 12 climbers perished in 2023, and another five went missing when Nepal issued nearly 500 permits.

But despite the fatalities, the mountain still draws hundreds of climbers who are determined to reach its peak during the climbing season from March to May.

They brave frigid temperatures of -34 degrees, life-threatening snowstorms and avalanches in their bid to climb to the Everest summit.

Under the draft law, a climber would only be granted a permit after providing authorities evidence of climbing at least one 7000-metre mountain in Nepal.

It would also make it mandatory for mountain guides to be Nepalese citizens.

The planned legislation has been lodged in the country’s upper house of parliament, the National Assembly.