Everest, the world’s highest peak locally called Sagarmatha has risen 86 centimeters. Nepal and China unveiled the new height of Everest on Tuesday. It is also known by the name Mount Qomolangma.
Now, the height of Everest has reached 8848.86 meters, announced Minister for Foreign Affairs Pradip Kumar Gyawali at a press conference held at the Survey Department.
On Tuesday, Nepalese President Bidya Devi Bhandari and her Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping exchanged letters to jointly announce the height of Mount Qomolangma.
The height measurement was done separately by Nepal and China. The data obtained from the field survey has been processed by the Department of Surveying and Mapping. According to the department, discussions were held at the level of the Chinese counterpart technical and steering committee.
“It was the first time that Nepal has deployed its own national resources to measure the height of Mount Sagarmatha [Nepalese name for Mount Everest], and I feel very proud,” Nepal’s Chief Survey Officer Khimlal Gautam said during a press interview.
The cabinet meeting held on December 26 had given approval to the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation to make the height public. The coordination with China is done by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The previous height of 8848 meters was measured in 1954 AD by the Survey of India.
Nepal decided to remeasure the peak after speculations that the widely accepted height might not be the actual height after the 2015 earthquake.
