Microplastic pollution discovered near the top of Mount Everest

Microplastics are present at both the highest and deepest points on Earth. The tiny pieces of plastic had previously been discovered in the 11-kilometre-deep Mariana trench in the Pacific Ocean and have now been detected on Mount Everest.

The most polluted sample was from the Everest Base Camp in Nepal, where most human activity on the mountain is concentrated. It had 79 particles of microplastics per litre of snow. The highest sample, taken at 8440 metres above sea level, or 408 metres below the peak, had 12 microplastics per litre of snow.