15/08/2026
Human activity at Mount Everest Base Camp is having a measurable impact on the fragile Himalayan environment, with a new study estimating that activities during a single climbing season in 2023 generated energy equivalent to 849,174 megajoules.
The study, titled “Effects of Human Activity on Khumbu Glacier: Towards a Sustainable Everest Base Camp,” examined human activities at Everest Base Camp and their environmental consequences. Researchers warn that the growing concentration of climbers, support staff and tourists in the high-altitude region is placing increasing pressure on the Khumbu Glacier and surrounding ecosystem.
Fuel consumption linked to thousands of tons of snowmelt
According to the study, around 60,000 kilograms of waste was managed at Everest Base Camp in 2023. During the approximately 50-day climbing season, climbers and support teams also consumed 824 LPG cylinders, 18,935 litres of kerosene and 5,130 litres of petrol.
Researchers estimate that the heat and energy generated from this fuel consumption alone could contribute to the melting of approximately 2,338 tons of snow.
The study's findings indicate that energy released through cooking, heating, lighting and other activities does not simply disappear. Some of the energy eventually affects the surrounding high-altitude environment and contributes to snow and ice melting.
More than 31,000 litres of urine
The study also examined an unusual but significant source of heat at the base camp: human urine.
Researchers estimate that approximately 31,810 litres of urine were discharged at Everest Base Camp during 2023.
Because people at high altitude tend to consume large amounts of water, the study estimates an average urine output of around 3.1 litres per person per day.
According to the researchers, the temperature and volume of human urine during the climbing season could contribute to the melting of approximately 154 tons of snow.
When the effects of fuel consumption, urine and other human activities are combined, the study estimates that around 2,500 tons of snow could melt during a single climbing season.
Everest Base Camp warming faster
The study, which analysed human activities between 1991 and 2023, found that temperatures around Everest Base Camp have been increasing at an average rate of 0.28°C per year.
Researchers say this rate is almost twice the warming rate recorded around the Khumbu Glacier and about 15 percent higher than the rate in the debris-covered area north of the base camp.
The findings highlight the growing influence of human activity in an already vulnerable high-altitude environment.
31.3 metres of ice thickness lost
The study further estimates that the area lost approximately 31.3 metres of ice thickness between 1984 and 2015.
If the current trend continues, researchers project that approximately 41 percent of the ice could disappear by 2100.
Scientists therefore argue that Everest climbing activities need to be better managed and that stronger measures are necessary to protect the Himalayan ecosystem.
Calls to replace fossil fuels with solar energy
Associate Professor Dr. Sudip Thakuri of Tribhuvan University’s Central Department of Environmental Science, a co-author of the study, said energy used for cooking, heating and lighting contributes to the warming of the surrounding environment.
Researchers have recommended replacing conventional fuels with solar and other renewable energy sources at Everest Base Camp to reduce the environmental impact of mountaineering activities.
The study has also proposed relocating the existing Everest Base Camp because of increasing environmental and physical risks. Two potential alternatives have been suggested: a more stable area southwest of the current base camp or the nearby settlement of Gorak Shep.
Everest producing hundreds of tons of waste
The environmental problem extends beyond energy and heat.
According to data from the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee, which has been involved in managing waste generated during Everest expeditions since 1991, more than 90,000 kilograms of waste was collected this year alone.
Of that amount, approximately 80,750 kilograms came from Everest Base Camp.
Another organization working in the Khumbu region, Sagarmatha Next, says that as much as 790 kilograms of waste can be collected in a single busy tourist day. The organization estimates that as much as 200 tons of waste can be generated in the region annually.
More than 80,000 tourists and mountaineers visit the Khumbu region each year, placing considerable pressure on the area's fragile environment.
Although the natural body heat of individuals does not directly melt large quantities of snow, researchers say the concentration of people, fuel consumption and other activities at the base camp collectively have significant environmental consequences.
Plan to turn human waste into biogas
Efforts are also underway to address the problem of human waste.
The Mount Everest Biogas Project has identified human waste as one of the major environmental challenges facing the Everest region and has warned that the problem could become increasingly severe without a long-term solution.
Human waste brought down from higher parts of Everest is transported to Gorak Shep for disposal. The practice has raised concerns about its potential effects on the health of local Sherpa communities and the surrounding environment.
The project has proposed installing a biogas digester in the Khumbu Valley to process human waste and provide a more sustainable waste-management solution.
The latest study similarly calls for the rapid adoption of renewable energy and the reduction of traditional fuel use in the Everest region.
Growing pressure to protect Everest
Mountaineers and environmental campaigners have also been calling for stricter management of climbing activities.
Record-setting climber Nirmal Purja has repeatedly called for stronger efforts to protect Nepal's mountain ecosystems and address the growing waste and environmental problems associated with mountaineering.
Researchers say that without timely measures to control and manage human activity, the rate of glacier and snowmelt could increase further.
The findings underline a growing challenge for Nepal: how to preserve Mount Everest as a global mountaineering destination while protecting the fragile Himalayan ecosystem from the very human activity that brings thousands of people to the mountain each year.
