By Anders Lorenzen

Mont Blanc, the iconic mountain flanked as the highest peak in Western Europe, has lost more than two metres in two years and shrunk to its lowest level since precise measurements started 22 years ago. This is a direct effect of the accelerating climate crisis as warmer summers have reduced its snowpack size, researchers have said.

A team of topographers who perform measurements every two years unveiled the unwelcome fact that the mountain was now 4,805.59 metres high which is a significant 2.22 metres lower than their last measurement of 4,807.81 metres recorded in September 2021.

A new trend

When precise GNSS satellite measurements started in September 2001, the Mont Blanc stood at 4,810.40 metres. Between 2001 and 2013 it ranged between 4,808 and 4,810 metres with a record 4,810.90 metres in 2007, but from 4,810.02 metres in 2013, it has been on a downward trend.

The Mont Blanc’s rocky peak peaks at 4,792 metres but total height depends on its snowpack, which typically increases over summer, as rain on its peak turns into snow.

Farouk Kadded at Leica Geosystems said that this year, for the first time since 2015 – when scientists started measurements in June too – Mont Blanc’s snowpack in September had remained virtually unchanged from June.

“Normally, Mont Blanc gains one metre from June to September, but that did not happen this summer because of several days of positive temperatures, even a record of 10 degrees Celsius,” he added.

Before GNSS with its centimetre precision, scientists used GPS, trigonometric estimates and barometric measurements, which can be off by several metres.