High altitude

Percentage of oxygen available at this altitude compared with sea level

79% oxygen

Fact about this altitude
Although it is high enough to make you short of breath, this altitude is still 405 m lower than the average altitude of Antarctica. This is because Antarctica is covered with a layer of ice that is on average 1600m thick.

What changes at high altitude?

Many thousands of people travel to high altitude each year to trek, climb and ski. The environment is completely different at high altitude compared to that at sea level - the air is thinner and temperatures are usually much colder. In order to survive at high altitude, it is necessary to acclimatise(acclimate). This means that changes occur in the body so that it can cope with the shortage of oxygen.

Learn more about high altitude

You can find out exactly how much less oxygen there is in the atmosphere at any altitude by clicking on our interactive altitude oxygen levels calculator. Click on these links if you want to know more about how the body acclimatises to high altitude, or about altitude sickness, high altitude pulmonary oedema (HAPE) and high altitude cerebral oedema (HACE). You can learn more about exercise at high altitude and why some athletes undertake altitude training.