Unusual: a famous mountain has become smaller

Everything changes in this world, even the unyielding mountains. Mont Blanc, the tallest mountain peak in Western Europe, was measured in September 2023 and stands at a height of 4,805.59 meters, which is 2.22 meters less than the previous measurement in 2021, as announced by French surveyors. This difference may reflect variations in rainfall during the summer and has been observed in the past, said Jean des Garets, a surveyor from the French department of Haute-Savoie, during a press conference held in the town of Chamonix. This mountain peak, located on the French-Italian border between the French region of Haute-Savoie and the Italian region of Valle d'Aosta, "could be much taller in two years" during the next measurement, emphasized the president of the Chamber of Surveyors in the same department in France. "We are accumulating data for future generations; we are not here to interpret them. We leave that to the scientists," he added, urging journalists "not to use the measurement result to speculate."

Equipped with state-of-the-art instruments and, for the first time, a drone, around 20 people divided into eight teams climbed the Mont Blanc peak with the help of ropes in mid-September to conduct measurements at various points on the summit over several days. This was the 12th edition of this operation, primarily aimed at mapping the glacier cap and collecting scientific data on the impact of climate change on the Alpine mountains, an initiative launched in 2001. "After these measurement campaigns, we have already learned many things: we know that the Mont Blanc peak is in perpetual motion, both in terms of altitude, with variations of nearly five meters, and in terms of its position," emphasized Jean des Garets. It should be noted that the process of reduction is not irreversible, and we expect increases in the future.