Climbers' urine melts glacier near Everest Base Camp

What the study showed. In August 2026, international media reported the results of an article in the journal Regional Environmental Change (Kim Lal Gautam, Nepal Department of Land Management, et al.): human activity at Nepal's Everest Base Camp (EBC) on the Khumbu Glacier in one spring season can add a local heat load equivalent to the melting of approximately 2,492±528 tons of ice and snow (range of estimate: 1,964–3,020 tons).

Urine is not the main part, but it is noticeable. Solid waste is usually collected in containers and lowered into the valley, while a significant part of the urine falls directly onto the glacier. At the EBC altitude (~5364 m), expedition participants drink a lot of fluids to prevent dehydration; the authors estimate more than 6000 l of urine per day per season. The heat transferred to the urine could theoretically melt about 154 tons of ice per season - less than from fuel, but not zero.

Fuel accounts for the largest share. According to a survey of operators, over ~50 days in spring 2023, ~1,600 tents used 824 LPG cylinders, 18,935 l of kerosene, and 5,130 l of gasoline (cooking, heating, generators). Together with urine, this gives an estimate of 849,174 ± 179,774 MJ of heat in the camp. Satellite data also shows a local increase in surface temperature near EBC, faster than in neighboring areas of the Khumbu.

Context for travelers. Global warming remains the main cause of Himalayan glacier retreat; seasonal “town” activity of the EBC adds pressure on the already fragile Khumbu. In Nepal, there is already discussion of moving the camp from the glacier to a more stable moraine, an idea that the authors support with figures. For planning the EBC trek, this is a signal of the scale of the seasonal camp and the need for stricter sanitary discipline on the route.