In December of 2020, China and Nepal made a joint announcement about a new measurement for Mount Everest: 8,849 meters. This is just the latest of several different surveys of Everest since the first measurement was taken in 1855. The reasons why the height has fluctuated have to do with surveying methodology, challenges in determining sea level, and the people who have historically been able to measure Everest.
While Everest is the peak’s English name, the Nepalese have long called it Sagarmatha, and Tibetans call it Chomolungma – “Mother Goddess of the World.”
More » The Story of the First Sherpa to Climb to the Top of Mt. Everest – by Christopher Rand, The New Yorker, May 28, 1954
More » Indian mathematician Radhanath Sikdar first to identify Everest as highest mountain peak – The Economic Times, Jun 01, 2015
