Height of Mount Everest declines: study

October 9, 2005
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China’s surveying and mapping department has announced on Sunday that the height of Mount Everest, the highest peak of the world reduced by 3.7 meters and stood at 8,844.43 meters above sea level.

Xinhuanet quoted Chen Bangzhu, director general of the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping (SBSM) as saying that the newly measured height is 3.7 meters shorter than the measurements of 8,848.13 meters, a figure obtained during the previous measurement in 1975.

“The improved technology has made the data of current measurements more precise,” he added.

The rate of precision for the measurement of Mount Everest’s summit rock is within a margin of 0.21 meter, and the ice and snow layer at the mountain summit is 3.5 meters in thickness, Chen said at Sunday’s press conference.

The data have been obtained after arduous field survey and thorough calculation and checkout, Chen said.

Worldwide change in climate is attributed as a main reason for the decline.