Mount Everest gets a New Height!

 

The World's highest peak got a bit higher on Tuesday, as China and Nepal finally agreed on a precise elevation for Mount Everest after years of debate. The agreed height of 8,848.86 metres was 86 centimetres higher than the measurement previously recognized by Nepal, and more than four metres above China’s official figure (8,844.43m). The revised height of Mt Everest puts an end to the decades-long dispute between the two neighbors on the height of the world's tallest mountain that straddles their shared border. For 65 years, the consensus height had been 8,848 metres.


This discrepancy was due to China measuring the rock base on the summit and not — as with the new reading — the covering of snow and ice on the peak


The Dispute

  • The exact height of Mt Everest had been contested ever since a group of British surveyors in India declared the height of Peak XV, as it was initially called, to be 8,778 metres in 1847.
  • The Nepal government decided to measure the exact height of the mountain, as some geologists suggested that there might have been some changes due to various reasons, including the devastating earthquake of 2015.


PEAK DIPLOMACY

  • The measurement was significant, as China and Nepal settled their border dispute in 1961 with the boundary line passing through the summit of Mt Everest. The peak of Mt Everest played a significant role in the settlement of the boundary between Nepal and China, after Beijing gave up its claims over the whole mountain as part of its territory after it took control of Tibet in 1950.
  • The dispute was finally settled in 1961 after the intervention of the ruling Communist Party of China founder Mao Zedong, who suggested that the boundary line should pass through the summit of the Mt Everest, which was agreed by Nepal.
  • The latest survey puts both the countries on the same page about its height, as Beijing seeks to firm up its strategic ties with Nepal, with huge investments in infrastructure projects, while enhancing its political influence over the Himalayan country.


Did You Know

Mt Everest stands on the border between China and Nepal; the mountaineers climb it from both sides. It is known as Sagarmatha in Nepal, while in China, it is called as Mt Qomolangma, the Tibetan name for the world's highest peak.
Location: Kathmandu 44600, Nepal

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