Climate change: Mont Blanc is SHRINKING as rising temperatures melt the icy peak
Europe's second highest peak has shrunk by 3 feet (1 metre) since 2017 thanks to , French geographical experts announced yesterday. The Alpine peak, which sits on the border of and , was measured during mid-September at 15,773.65 feet, down from 15,776.64 feet four years ago. In fact, the team noted, the mountain has been losing an average of 5.1 inches (13 cm) in height each year since precise measurements began being taken in 2001. The highest reading, taken in 2001, had Mont Blanc standing at 15,783.79 feet. These findings come amid growing concerns worldwide over the loss of glacial ice, with Mont Blanc not the only peak being diminished by a changing climate. Last month, for example, experts from Stockholm University reported that Kebnekaise, Sweden's highest peak, in the last year. The tallest and most prominent mountain in Europe is Mount Elbrus, which lies in the Caucasus. Its western summit reaches 18,510 feet. Mont Blanc is measured every two years in order to help create a model of the ice sheet and to provide data to various specialists for analysis. 'Now it's up to climatologists, glaciologists and other scientists to look at all the data collected and put forward all the theories to explain this phenomenon,' the experts said in a press conference held in Saint-Gervais-les-Bains, at the foot of Mont Blanc. According to the researchers, the height of the mountain varies from year-to-year because the summit is covered with a layer of permanent snow, one whose depth varies with wind intensities and precipitation levels. Exceptional weather conditions during this year's excursion mean that this latest measurement is the most accurate taken to-date. 'Since the dawn of time, the altitude of Mont Blanc has varied continuously,' the geographers explained. The rock that makes up the mountain, they added, peaks at 15,721.78 feet (4,792 metres) above sea-level. Although the measurements of Mont Blanc are taken biennially, officials revealed yesterday that they had opted not to publish the 'exceptionally low' figure of 15,767.81 feet (4,806.03 metres) they previously reached back in 2019. This reading, they explained, was felt should be taken with 'a pinch of salt', leading them to decide to wait for the 2021 measurement 'for more scientific explanations.' Furthermore, the team said they are wary of rushing to any quick interpretation of their dataset. 'We should not draw hasty conclusions about measurements which have been carried out only since 2001 with this kind of precision,' said the team's Denis Borel.