Mont Blanc, Western Europe’s highest mountain, has shrunk by more than two meters in the past two years, making the mountain’s peak 4,805.59 meters (15,766.4 feet) tall, researchers said Thursday. Jean de Garet, chief geometer of the Haute-Savoie region in southeastern France, said the drop of 2.22 meters (7.28 feet) could be due to less rainfall in the summer months.

“Mont Blanc could be much higher in two years” at the next measurement, he added, saying it wasn’t the first time such a large change had occurred.

The mountain’s rocky summit is 4,792 meters above sea level, but the thick ice and snow cover varies from year to year depending on wind and weather. Researchers have been taking measurements every two years since 2001, hoping to collect information about the effects of climate change on the Alps.

“We are collecting data for future generations. We are not here to interpret it,” de Garet said.

He said people shouldn’t use height measurements to “say old things.” Instead, “it is now up to climatologists, glaciologists, and other scientists to use all the data we collect and develop theories to explain the shrinkage.” The highest peak of Mont Blanc was registered in 2007 at an altitude of 4810.90 meters.

2021 saw a drop of one meter compared to 2017, after 2019’s extremely low result was kept secret because experts deemed it unrepresentative.

disappearing glaciers

“The height of Mont Blanc has fluctuated since time immemorial,” say geometerists.

Throughout the year, strong winter winds generally wash away more snow than during the summer months; This means that the peak is higher in early autumn than in early spring.

“We have learned a lot from these measurement campaigns. We know that the height and position of the peak are constantly changing, with changes of up to five metres.” said de Garet.

Glaciologist Luc Moreau told AFP that the ice sheet at the top of Mont Blanc could not melt because temperatures were -15C (5F).

“So it has no connection to global warming,” he said. But that could change if climate change worsens, he said.

As a result of climate change, faster melting of Alpine glaciers has been observed. European glaciers, many of which are lower elevation than elsewhere in the world, are particularly vulnerable to global warming. According to scientific data, they lost approximately one-third of their volume between 2000 and 2020.

Glaciologists believe that up to seven percent of the remaining glacier mass could disappear in 2022 alone. But Denis Borel, a member of the Mont Blanc team, urged people to “remain humble” about the impact of climate on the mountain. The official added that people should not “jump to conclusions about measurements taken only since 2001.”

About 20 people climbed the mountain in mid-September to take measurements over several days; They were divided into eight groups equipped with high-tech tools and, for the first time, a drone. Source