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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Environment
Ajit Niranjan Europe environment correspondent

Mont Blanc, the ‘roof of Europe’, loses more than a metre of height in a year

An Aiguille du Midi cable car traverses Mont-Blanc
The Aiguille du Midi cable car traverses the slopes of Mont-Blanc in Haute-Savoie, France. Photograph: Design Pics Inc/Alamy

Western Europe’s highest mountain shrank by more than a metre last year. The peak of Mont Blanc in France now stands 4,807.47 metres above sea level, a team of surveyors said on Wednesday, putting “the roof of Europe” 1.29 metres lower than in 2025.

The mountain is about 4,792 metres tall but the summit constantly shifts as heat, wind and precipitation change the thickness of snow and ice on top. The height scientists recorded during an expedition last month was 1.88 metres greater than it was in 2023, when it reached the lowest levels in recent memory.

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