Every year, hundreds of tourists flock to the Himalayas to take on the ultimate climbing challenge – Mount Everest.
But a new study has warned that these climbers are unknowingly destroying Everest’s glacier…with their urine.
At an elevation of 17,598ft, the Khumbu Glacier is the highest glacier in the world, and is also home to Everest Base Camp.
In a new study, scientists from Nepal’s Survey Department set out to understand the impact climbers, trekkers, and support staff are having on the glacier.
The team focused on the spring season in 2023, during which more than 2,000 people stayed at the base camp.
According to their calculations, the visitors’ urine alone could have melted more than 150 tons of ice on the glacier.
‘Human urine is released directly onto the ice at high altitudes, where the ice temperature consistently remains below 0°C,’ the researchers explained.
‘Urine, with a temperature of around 37°C (human body temperature), causes the ice to melt.’
Every year, hundreds of climbers flock to the Himalayas to take on the ultimate climbing challenge – Mount Everest. But a new study has warned that these climbers are unknowingly destroying Everest’s glacier…with their urine
The number of climbers visiting Everest is increasing every year – with consequences for the ice
Since 2003, climbers and visitors at Everest Base Camp have used blue barrels for the collection of fecal matter.
However, their urine is released directly onto the ice.
Until now, the impact this is having on the Khumbu Glacier has remained unclear.
In their new study, published in Regional Environmental Change, the researchers, led by Khim Lal Gautum, set out to unravel the mystery.
‘The Everest Base Camp (EBC), a critical staging area for mountaineers attempting to summit Mount Everest, has seen a significant increase in human activity over the past few decades,’ they explained.
‘The increasing number of climbers, trekkers, and support staff, particularly at the campsite area, has intensified environmental impacts on the Khumbu Glacier.’
According to the researchers’ calculations, the average daily urine output at base camp is approximately 3.181 litres per person.
With around 2,127 people staying at base camp for an average of 50 days during the spring season, that makes the total urine discharge approximately 338,299 litres.
The increasing number of climbers, trekkers, and support staff, particularly at the campsite area, has intensified environmental impacts on the Khumbu Glacier
Theoretically, this means the urine released at base camp could contribute enough heat to melt 154 tons of ice.
However, there is an important caveat.
This estimate assumes that all released heat is transferred to the ice – which might not be the case in practice.
‘This estimate is therefore likely to represent an upper bound, as it does not account for heat losses through percolation into debris, runoff, incomplete heat transfer, or other dissipative processes that are difficult to quantify under field conditions,’ the team explained.
Based on the findings, the researchers are calling for Everest Base Camp to be relocated to an ice–free area.
‘Relocating the base camp to an ice–free site could help to mitigate human–induced glacier melt while fostering more sustainable mountaineering practices,’ they explained.
‘If implemented, relocation could reduce the stress on the Khumbu Icefall, enhance expedition safety, and contribute to a more resilient mountain ecosystem.
‘Furthermore, the rapid glacier melt in the Hindu–Kush–Himalaya is not only an environmental concern for local communities, but also has global implications, such as contributing to rising sea levels.’
Based on the findings, the researchers are calling for Everest Base Camp (current location shown in blue) to be relocated to an ice–free area (potential locations show in green)
The news comes shortly after a scheme to encourage climbers to bring rubbish down from Mount Everest was scrapped, after dishonest mountaineers found ways to cheat the system.
Introduced in 2014, the programme forced those scaling the mountain to pay a $4,000 (£2,964) deposit, which they only got back if they brought at least 18lbs (8kg) of rubbish back down with them.
It was hoped the scheme would help to clear up rubbish left by previous mountaineers – including oxygen cylinders and human waste.
However, the rubbish problem has ‘not gone away’.
Climbers have been able to cheat the system by collecting rubbish from lower camps, rather than the higher camps where the majority of the waste lays.
Speaking to the BBC, Tshering Sherpa, chief executive officer of the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee (SPCC), which runs an Everest checkpoint, explained: ‘From higher camps, people tend to bring back oxygen bottles only.
‘Other things like tents and cans and boxes of packed foods and drinks are mostly left behind there, that is why we can see so much of waste piling up.’
