THE HEIGHT of Mont Blanc, one of the tallest mountains in Europe located on the border of France and Italy, is diminishing. This information comes from topographers (professionals who measure terrain) of the National Union of Specialist Topographers (UNGE, the acronym in French). After an expedition of eight researchers to the summit, it was announced on October 5th that it had lost about two meters from 2021 to now.

UNGE calculates Mont Blanc’s height every two years. In September 2021, the mountain was 4,807.81 m (equivalent to 126.5 vertically stacked statues of Christ the Redeemer) above sea level — 2.22 meters more than the current 4,805.59 m. According to the group, measurements have been dropping since 2013 when 4,810.02 m was the recorded height.

The mountain’s rocky peak is at 4,792 m, but its official height varies according to the snow accumulated on its surface — which tends to increase during rainy periods and decrease during warmer summers. Lack of rain and higher temperatures could be the main reasons for the reduction, according to Cecile Taffin, president of UNGE. However, she explains that these data are not enough to conclude that the height variation results from climate change.

SOURCES: UNGE, 4810M, REUTERS, CECILE TAFFIN, PARIS MATCH, OUTSIDE, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, EMBASSY OF THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF PAKISTAN, NEPAL HIMAL PEAK PROFILE, AND MADISON MOUNTAINEERING

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