Mount Everest's height to be jointly announced by Nepal, China

Nepal and China have reportedly agreed to re-measure the height of Mount Everest in the wake of reports that the world's highest mountain may have decreased in size after the earthquake which rocked the country in 2015. Geologists have said that 7.6  magnitude earthquake which shook Nepal may have shrunk mountain by three centimeters against the current height of 8,848 metres. In 2017, India too proposed to help Nepal in re-measuring the height of Mount Everest.

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Decision taken after Jinping's talks with his Nepalese counterpart

The decision to jointly re-measure the height of Mount Everest was taken after Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with his Nepalese counterpart Bidya Devi Bhandari and Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli during last weekend. 

A joint statement issued by the two governments on October 15 said that recognising the Mount Sagarmatha Zhumulangma (Mt. Everest) is an eternal symbol of friendship between Nepal and China. It added that the two sides will promote cooperation in different fields, including climate change and protecting the environment. Sagarmatha and Zhumulangma are Nepalese and Tibetan names of Mount Everest.  

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India's role in Mount Everest

Reports suggest that as part of its 250-year completion celebrations, the Survey of India had proposed to re-measure the height of Mount Everest. India was the first country under Sir George Everest's leadership as 'Surveyor General of India' to declare the height of Mount Everest and proclaim it as the highest peak in the world in the year 1855. Consequently, India again carried out exercise and had declared the height of Mount Everest in the year 1856. 

After an earthquake in Nepal in the year 2015, various questions were asked by the scientific community. In response, the Survey of India had suggested the re-measuring of Everest's height in an Indo-Nepal Joint Scientific Exercise along with the Survey department of Nepal. 

(With inputs from PTI)

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