Updated: December 8, 2020 6:13:44 pm
In 1954, the Survey of India determined that the elevation of Everest is 8,848 m (29,028 ft). This became recognized worldwide. Except for China. (Archive)
On December 8, Mount Everest had a new elevation announced at 8,848.86 m above sea level – or 86 cm higher than the previously recognized 8,848 m. Nepal and China jointly announced the new elevation, the result of a survey, in the process that also resolved a dispute between the two countries.
Measurements over the years
In 1856, during the Great Trigonometric Study, the Indian mathematician Radhanath Sikdar determined that Everest is the highest mountain in the world. Until the advent of GPS, attempts to measure its height used instruments such as the theodolite and the surveyor’s chain, and trigonometric calculations.
In 1954, the Survey of India determined that the elevation of Everest is 8,848 m (29,028 ft). This became recognized worldwide. Except for China.
China’s argument was that the elevation of Everest should be taken as 8,844 m (29,017 ft) – 4 m shorter than the recognized elevation. This was the finding of a Chinese survey in 2005.
And although the mountain rises from the Nepal-China border, there was also a third estimate from afar, which was even higher. In 1999, a team from the USA set the elevation at 29,035 feet (almost 8,850 m). This survey was sponsored by the National Geographic Society (of the US) and will continue to be used by the Society until the new measurement is verified, National Geographic reported Tuesday.
In addition to the different measurements, “there are also philosophical differences as to whether Everest’s snow cover should count for its height,” noted the Wall Street Journal in a 2011 article.
However, it was the 1954 Survey of India finding of 8,848 m that has been the gold standard internationally. Until now.
Newest elevation
The elevation announced Tuesday is the finding of a survey to give the final and definitive word on the elevation of the mountain. The survey was also necessary because the height of the mountain was believed to have changed after a devastating earthquake (magnitude 7.8) that hit Nepal in 2015.
China and Nepal have conducted their own surveys. According to the South China Morning Post, the two sides have been comparing notes to end the long-running controversy.
The Nepal Studies Department’s measurements, completed last year, used elaborate and multiple techniques. A team scaled Everest and deployed a GPS receiver, along with radar to measure the depth of the snow. At eight other sites, teams captured views of the summit to determine its elevation with modern laser theodolites, National Geographic reported.
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Later last year, it emerged that China and Nepal would cooperate to re-inspect the mountain, delaying the disclosure of the new height. The Chinese study was conducted on the north side of the mountain this year and used the Chinese network of Beidou satellites.
Tuesday’s announcement came in a joint statement by the Nepal Department of Studies and the Chinese authorities.
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