The highest mountain is growing
Mount Everest is growing by about 2 millimetres a year. GPS measurements suggest it has recently been rising faster than its long-term trend. And it stands out strikingly far above its neighbouring peaks.
Your guess
According to a 2024 study, what might be lifting Everest a little extra?
15 to 50 metres
15–50metresof its height could have come about this way, the team estimates
A team from the China University of Geosciences in Beijing and University College London reconstructed the river capture with a computer model, matched to today's river profiles. The result, published in Nature Geoscience: 15 to 50 metres of the striking height could be due to this effect.
The objection
In July 2026 Joel Leonard and Kelin Whipple disagreed: the river profiles could be explained more simply by rain on the mountains, and findings from the Arun valley spoke against it. Xu Han's team countered that including rain changes nothing, and read the valley findings differently. The dispute isn't settled.
Seabed on the summit
By the way, the very top is former seabed: the highest rocks on Earth are fossil-bearing marine limestone from the Ordovician. Since 2022 the International Union of Geological Sciences has counted them among 100 geological heritage sites worldwide.
