Mont Blanc has lost one meter in four years and now stands at 4,807.81 meters – franceinfo

The new altitude of Mont Blanc is 4,807.81 meters, according to the last consolidated measurement for 2021 published Wednesday, September 29 by the surveyors of Haute-Savoie. The previous measure published in 2017 by those same surveyors was 4,808.72 meters. The roof of Western Europe has thus lost nearly a meter in four years.

This recorded altitude is the “overall” height, that is to say that of the rocky peak, which culminates at 4,792 meters, plus the layer of ice which covers it, with a margin of error of 10 centimeters. It is therefore this snow surface which decreases and which varies from year to year depending on altitude winds and precipitation. The highest altitude (4,810.90 meters) was thus recorded in 2007.

To carry out this survey, a team of 27 people, surveyors and mountain guides carried out an expedition on September 16, 17 and 18. They climbed the summit and carried out their measurements via satellite antennas, for two hours.

This biennial measurement has been carried out since 2001. Surveyors have calculated an average drop in the height of Mont Blanc of 10 centimeters per year. Should we see a link with global warming? This remains difficult to say, the data and the hindsight not being sufficient, according to them.