China and Nepal settle their differences over Mount Everest’s exact height
- The two countries will announce their findings on Tuesday after carrying out twin surveys to resolve a long-running debate
- In the past they differed over whether to include the snowcap on the world’s tallest mountain
China and Nepal have finally decided just how big Mount Everest is and will announce their findings on Tuesday.
The two sides have been comparing notes after conducting their own surveys several months ago in an attempt to lay to rest a long-running controversy over the exact height of the world’s tallest mountain, which straddles their border.
The agreement should end the long-running controversy over the precise dimensions of the mountain, known as Sagarmatha in Nepal and Qomolangma in Tibet. Previously they had been unable to agree whether the measurements should include its snowcap or be limited to the rock base.
“We [Nepal] and China will announce the height jointly on Tuesday,” Padma Aryal, Nepal’s minister for land reform and management, told The Kathmandu Post on Sunday.
The initiative was agreed during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Nepal last year as an “eternal symbol of the friendship between Nepal and China”.