Mount Everest's glaciers are experiencing accelerated melting, with a significant contributor identified as the urine deposited by the increasing number of climbers, according to a study published in the journal Regional Environmental Change. Researchers found that the heat from urine, at human body temperature, causes ice to melt.
An international team of scientists studied the Khumbu Glacier, located at Everest Base Camp on the mountain's Nepalese side. This area attracts hundreds of people annually attempting to summit the 29,035-foot peak. During the spring 2023 season, approximately 2,000 people were present at base camp, situated at an altitude of about 17,958 feet. Calculations indicate that each person deposited roughly 0.8 gallons of urine. Over the estimated 50-day period climbers spend at base camp, this amounted to over 89,000 gallons of waste.
The study estimates that the heat generated by this urine could melt around 154 tons of ice and snow each season. When combined with the heat from fuel used for cooking and heating, which amounts to thousands of gallons, the total ice melt could reach 2,492 tons per season.
"The increasing number of climbers, trekkers, and support staff, particularly at the campsite area, has intensified environmental impacts on the Khumbu Glacier," the researchers stated. The study authors acknowledge that their projection represents an upper bound, as it assumes all heat transfers to the ice without accounting for heat loss through various natural processes.
In response to these findings, the research team is advocating for the relocation of Everest Base Camp to an ice-free site. They suggest that such a move could help mitigate human-induced glacier melt, promote more sustainable mountaineering practices, reduce stress on the Khumbu Icefall, enhance expedition safety, and contribute to a more resilient mountain ecosystem.
This environmental concern is compounded by other issues plaguing Mount Everest. The mountain is reportedly littered with over 50 tons of trash, earning it the nickname "the world's highest garbage dump." A previous initiative by Nepal to incentivize climbers to bring down trash proved largely ineffective, as climbers often only collected refuse from lower elevations, leaving higher slopes covered in waste.