"6,000 Liters of Urine a Day... Melting Glaciers," The Fear Sparked by Mountaineers

The activities of climbers visiting Mount Everest could melt about 2,500 tons of glaciers and snow each year, according to a research study.

The analysis shows that the impact comes not only from the fuel used for heating and cooking, but also from the heat of the urine discharged by climbers.

An international research team, including a senior surveyor from Nepal's Ministry of Land Management, recently published the results of their analysis of the Khumbu Glacier—where the base camp on the Nepali side of Everest is located—in the international academic journal Regional Environmental Change.

During the spring climbing season, thousands of climbers, guides, and support staff flock to the Everest Base Camp, which operates tents equipped with cafes, high-speed internet, hot shower facilities, and even heated floors.

According to the researchers, during a roughly 50-day period in the spring of 2023, operating 1,600 tents at the base camp consumed 824 cylinders of liquefied petroleum gas, 18,935 liters of kerosene, and 5,130 liters of gasoline.

The total thermal energy generated by the fuel used for cooking, heating, and power generation, combined with the heat transferred from human urine, is estimated at 849,174 megajoules—enough energy to melt 2,492 tons of glaciers and snow.

Melting 2,500 tons of ice and snow into water is an amount that could fill an international regulation Olympic swimming pool.

In particular, the researchers analyzed that the amount of glacier melted by human urine alone is considerable.

Because people drink a lot of water at high altitudes to prevent dehydration, thousands of climbers and guides discharge over 6,000 liters of urine per day.

While feces are collected in storage tanks and transported down the mountain, a significant amount of urine is discharged directly onto the glaciers.

The researchers estimated that the heat transferred from urine alone could melt about 154 tons of ice in a single season.

The researchers explained that the current calculations do not include the impact of helicopter flights, the body heat of climbers, or pack animals like yaks transporting supplies, meaning the actual impact of human activities could be even greater.

While global climate change is the primary cause of the melting Everest glaciers, the researchers pointed out that the current practice of concentrating thousands of people on glaciers that are already melting rapidly to generate additional heat is not sustainable.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
Reported by Jung Da-eun | Video by Lee Eui-seon | Graphics by Lee Jung-joo | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.