Mount Everest glaciers are under threat and melting thanks to climbers relieving themselves

Urine trouble, Mount Everest.After standing the test of time for 50 million years, the world’s tallest mountain is under threat from an unlikely source — our pee.Urine deposited on glaciers is enough to melt over 150 tons of ice and snow on Mount Everest every year, according to an a-thaw-calyptic study in the journal Regional Environmental Change, the Independent reported.“Urine, with a temperature of around 37°C (human body temperature), causes the ice to melt,” wrote the study authors, who were sent by Nepal’s Survey Department to determine the impact of humans on Everest.The international team of scientists studied the Khumbu Glacier, the home of the Himalayan Giant’s base camp on the mountain’s Nepalese side, where each year hundreds of people congregate before attempting to summit the 29,035-foot wonder.These throngs have turned this majestic pinnacle into a veritable “Burning Man”-esque tent city producing Himalayan trash mounds, and of course, mountains of human waste.While climbers have been required to pack out their poop in bags since 2024, climbers still relieve themselves directly onto the ice.

The researchers focused on the spring season in 2023, when roughly 2,000 people descended upon base camp, situated some 17,958 feet above sea level, the Daily Mail reported.According to their calculations, the pee generated by the alpine livestreamers totalled roughly 3.181 liters (0.8 gallons) per person.

When extrapolated out to the total number of people staying there for approximately 50 days, the overall leakage amounted to 338,299 liters or more than 89,000 gallons.The researchers estimated that the heat from heeding nature’s call up high could melt around 154 tons of ice in a single season.When coupled with the thousands of gallons of gas used for heating and cooking, that figure jumped to 2,492 tons — enough to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool.“The increasing number of climbers, trekkers, and support staff, particularly at ...