'50 meters in 89,000 years': How Mount Everest is secretly growing by 2mm every year
Produced by: Manoj Kumar
Hidden Growth
Mount Everest has secretly risen 50 meters over 89,000 years. A study in Nature Geoscience reveals rivers and unseen forces working to lift the world’s tallest peak higher into the sky.
Rivers’ Role
The Arun and Kosi rivers aren’t just carving landscapes; they’re engineering Everest’s rise by eroding massive gorges, triggering an invisible push upward in the Earth’s crust.
Skyward Forces
Isostatic rebound, a force where land lifts as weight is removed, adds 2 mm annually to Everest’s height. Dr. Jin-Gen Dai likens it to a boat rising in water when cargo is unloaded.
Living Mountains
Everest’s neighbors, Makalu and Lhotse, are also rising. Makalu, closest to the Arun River, grows faster at 2.2 mm per year, making this a regional symphony of earth and water.
Earth’s Resilience
The same process shaping Everest is happening globally. Scandinavia is still rising from Ice Age glacier melts, showing how Earth constantly shifts and rebounds.
Cultural Majesty
Everest isn’t just rock; it’s revered as Sagarmāthā and Chomolungma, a sacred symbol of endurance for Sherpas and Tibetans, while inspiring climbers worldwide to conquer its heights.
Tectonic Push
Born from the clash of continents 50 million years ago, Everest owes its towering stature to an unrelenting tectonic collision that continues to shape the Himalayas today.
Geological Marvel
Dr. Matthew Fox calls Everest’s growth a “dynamic partnership” between erosion and uplift, tracked through GPS technology that captures its stealthy, steady ascent.
Endless Change
Everest’s rise defies its iconic stillness, proving even the planet’s grandest landmarks are never truly static but part of a living, breathing Earth.
Rivers to Peaks
The Himalayan giants owe their towering heights to rivers far below. This interplay of erosion and uplift reshapes what we thought we knew about Earth’s mountains.