Mount Everest grew between 15 and 50 metres over the past 89,000 years(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Mount Everest is getting taller every year - now the reason why is revealed

Mount Everest, the tallest mountain in the world, continues to grow every year due to an unusual river formation at its base that affects it and other nearby peaks

01 Oct 2024, 08:03 by Anders Anglesey · The Mirror

Mount Everest, the highest peak in the world, is slowly getting taller every year and scientists have uncovered the reason why.

The mountain, which straddles the China-Nepal border, is estimated to have grown between 15 to 50 metres over the past 89,000 years and continues to increase in height. Now scientists at University College London (UCL) believe they have uncovered the reason why this is.

Scientists believe the answer is due to the mountain's water system, namely when the Arun River connected with another nearby river it created a new path which in turn formed the deep Arun Gorge close to Everest. The river network is about 46 miles from the mountain and is carving away the huge gorge, making Everest rise by about two millimetres each year.

Mount Everest is the tallest peak in the world( Image: AFP via Getty Images)

"Mount Everest is a remarkable mountain of myth and legend and it's still growing," PHD student Adam Smith of UCL's Earth Sciences department said, according to Sky News. "Our research shows that as the nearby river system cuts deeper, the loss of material is causing the mountain to spring further upwards."

The huge amount of sediment that is moved away leads to the land becoming lighter and forces the Earth's crust to push up slowly, leading to the increase in size. Its a process known as isostatic rebound.

Mount Everest stands at 8,849 metres high and is the world's highest point. It is about 250 metres taller than the next tallest peak in the Himalayan mountain range.

Mount Everest could continue to grow, according to scientists( Image: Getty Images)

Its monumental height has led to the river system in the area to form, according to the study's co-author Dr Jin-Gen Dai, also of the Earth Sciences department. "The upstream Arun river flows east at high altitude with a flat valley.

"It then abruptly turns south as the Koshi river, dropping in elevation and becoming steeper. This unique topography, indicative of an unsteady state, likely relates to Everest's extreme height."

But the increase in size is not a unique event to Everest. Other neighbouring peaks, such as Lhotse and Makalu, also benefit from the effects and are the fourth and fifth tallest mountains respectively.

The Mirror has contacted UCL for comment.