A survey conducted jointly by China and Nepal has revised the official height of the world’s highest peak, Mount Everest. The two countries had previously disagreed on the height of the mountain. It has now been agreed that the height is 8,848.86 metres or 29,032 feet, making Everest a bit taller than it used to be.
Mount Everest, not content with being the world’s tallest #mountain, officially just got taller – by 86cm.
In percentage terms, it’s not what you’d call a massive growth spurt, but every little helps.
The new official height of 8,848.86m concludes years of disagreement between China and Nepal (over the measurement, not all that other stuff).
China’s figure was almost four metres lower than Nepal’s because the former measured to the highest point of rock, while the latter insisted snow should be included.
The difference of opinion proved not to be insurmountable and the two countries, both of which are home to #Everest, agreed that a #snow cap on which six people can stand counts as the summit.
In fact, the previous official height might actually have been bang on. It was decided by the Survey of #India in 1954 and Everest actually grows around 50cm every century.
