Invisible impacts: An unusual littering on Mount Everest

Scientists have discovered our germs frozen on Mount Everest, which could remain for centuries. But how?

Every year, hundreds of people travel from all corners of the world to climb Mount Everest. But it's not just litter that has been left up there, it's our germs too.

The Earth’s highest weather station was set-up on the South Col in 2019. Researchers also took some soil samples in the process, as one of the few spots on Everest not covered in snow and ice, due to the strength of the wind here.

Found among the sample were Staphylococcus and Streptococcus - common human bacteria in the skin, nose and mouth, known to survive best in moist and warm environments.

Instead, these microbes have been found thriving in the harsh cold, where they were thought to go dormant or die. They originate from someone coughing, sneezing or even blowing their nose up there.

While a gross thought, they are not thought to impact the surrounding environment. In fact, in a positive, it has proven how hardy microbes are in extreme weather environments. It could even give us a better insight into where life might exist on other planets.