Kathmandu. Traces of microplastic pollution have been detected near the summit of Mt Everest. Earlier, plastic debris had been found at the deepest place of the world, the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean, in 2018.

Plastic fibers have been found just 100 meter below the peak of Everest, which is known as ‘the balcony’  With plastic residue having been found in the highest and deepest place, now, no corner of the earth remains untouched by plastic pollution.

As per The Guardian, samples of snow taken from 11 places, ranging from the altitude of 5 thousand 3 hundred meters to 8 thousand 4 hundred meters, contained traces of plastic. The largest amount of plastic was detected at the Base Camp, where the trekkers and the mountaineers spend most of their time. Scientists conjecture that the plastic fibers are remnants of clothes, tents and ropes used by the mountaineers.

Imogen Napper, at the University of Plymouth, said, “It really surprised me to find microplastics in every single snow sample I analysed.” Napper, who led the research, added, “Mount Everest is somewhere I have always considered remote and pristine. To know we are polluting near the top of the tallest mountain is a real eye-opener.”

There have been concerns about litter on Everest and several efforts have been made to free Everest of the debris. The new study however focuses on microplastics, which are too small to be picked up.