Mount Everest faces an unexpected environmental threat caused by climbers' waste

The German newspaper "Bild" explained that Mount Everest, which has been standing for a long time, is currently facing a completely unexpected threat. As for this threat, it is human waste. An international team of researchers has found that urine accumulated on ice alone may cause more than 150 tons of ice and snow to melt annually.

Experts pointed out that the reason for the melting of snow and ice is primarily due to warm urine, whose temperature is about 37 degrees Celsius, i.e. the temperature of the human body. They added that the increasing number of mountaineers and hikers has led to increased environmental pressure on Mount Everest.

Experts added that mountain climbers need to drink large amounts of water at high altitudes, as each climber produces about 3 liters of urine on a daily expedition during a 50-day expedition. It is noteworthy that mountaineers are required to return their solid waste in bags, while the same rule does not apply to urine.

The matter is not limited to urine, as Everest also suffers from more than 50 tons of waste. Nepal had launched a plan for every mountaineer to return garbage from Mount Everest, but the program was stopped last year due to lack of tangible results, according to the German newspaper “Bild”.

On the other hand, experts proposed a set of solutions to reduce the deterioration of glaciers, as experts recommended moving base camps to ice-free areas. In this regard, they said: “Moving the base camp to an ice-free site may help mitigate the melting of glaciers resulting from human activities, while promoting more sustainable mountaineering practices,” according to what was reported by the French “C News” website.

The experts also recommended moving the base camp to another location free of snow and ice due to the helicopter flights used to transport climbers to the base camp and provide rescue services when needed, the body heat of the climbers and the animals used to transport supplies, and the waste accumulated on the mountain, according to the French “Paris Mats” website.