Kathmandu: The nearly 6,000 litres of urine generated at the Mt Everest Base Camp daily during the peak climbing season, is contributing towards the melting of the Khumbu Glacier.
Every year, thousands of climbers, trekkers, guides, and support staff gather at the base camp before heading further into the mountains. This growing human activity may also be putting additional pressure on the glacier beneath and around the camp, a new study published in Regional Environmental Change has found.
The researchers looked at three major factors: global climate change, the use of fossil fuels, and heat generated by human urinary discharge.
Everest Base Camp is not just dealing with the larger effects of climate change. The activities happening directly at the campsite are also adding to the problem, the study has revealed.
The study, led by an international team that included a senior surveying official from Nepal’s Ministry of Land Management, collected field data during the spring 2023 climbing season at Everest Base Camp. They examined the energy and heat released through activities taking place at the camp. This included the use of liquefied petroleum gas, kerosene, and petrol.
These fuels are used for essential activities such as cooking, heating, and generating electricity. The researchers also studied the heat generated by urination. All of these factors were examined to understand how human activity at Base Camp could be affecting the Khumbu Glacier, as reported by NDTV.
The total heat energy released from these activities during the spring 2023 season was estimated at 849,174 ± 179,774 megajoules, the study has revealed. The researchers calculated that this amount of heat would be sufficient to melt approximately 2,492 ± 528 tonnes of glacier ice and snow.
While global climate change remains one of the three major contributors to the glacial melt, local activities at Everest Base Camp are also creating additional pressure.
With more people attempting to climb Mt Everest, the Base Camp has seen a significant increase in human activity over the past few decades. There are also a large number of trekkers and support staff at the camp.
In their study, researchers included the heat generated by human urine, while calculating the overall energy being released at the campsite. This makes human waste one of the local human-related factors contributing to the glacier melt examined in the study.
They also looked at how temperatures have changed in and around Everest Base Camp over more than three decades. They used satellite data from Landsat 5, Landsat 7 and Landsat 9 covering the period between 1991 and 2023.
The results showed a worrying trend.
The surface temperature at Everest Base Camp increased by 0.28°C every year, according to the 32-year satellite record. The warming rate at Base Camp was roughly twice the rate of warming recorded on the surface of the glacier next to it. It was also around 15% higher than the temperature increase recorded in the debris-covered terrain immediately north of Everest Base Camp.
The present Base Camp is located on a supraglacial site, meaning it is situated on the glacier. The researchers explored the possibility of moving the camp to a more stable location if relocation becomes necessary. They identified two possible sites southwest of the existing Everest Base Camp. Unlike the current camp, these two locations are situated on stable ground.