The precise height of Mount Everest - the world's highest peak - is 8844.43 metres.
This means that Everest is 3.7 metres shorter than in 1975 when it was measured last, the Chinese government announced in Beijing on Sunday.
"The elevation of Mt Everest's summit rock is 8844.43 metres, with a precision of 10.21 metres," Director General of the Chinese State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping, Chen Bangzhu, told reporters in Beijing, presenting the results of a
state-of-the-art survey, the first of its kind ever.
"The elevation data of Mt Qomolangma (Chinese name for Mt Everest) published in 1975 will cease to be used within China," he said while acknowledging that it would take some time for other countries and world bodies to accept the newly acquired data concerning the peak.
Although scientists refused to acknowledge that the peak has actually shrunk in height, owing to the technology levels of previous surveys.
The previously measured height of Mt Everest in 1975 was 8,848.13 metres above sea level, Chen said.
"This data... is lower than the one published in 1975. This is because the Qomolangma Mountain is located in an area with very active block movement," he said, while stressing that more research was needed to exactly determine whether Mt Everest has indeed shrunk in height.
"This is the first time that we have been able to get accurate figure of the height of the summit rock. This was never done before," he said while noting that Chinese surveyors, armed with latest global positioning system (GPS) and radar measuring equipment, spent 40 minutes at the summit to take the measurements.
The Chinese surveyors found that the thickness of the ice and snow layer covering the summit rock is 3.5 metres now, using ice and snow detector, Bangzhu said. This latest figure was much higher than that of 1975 when surveyors estimated the figure at 0.90 metres by thrusting a steel rod into the ice to calculate its depth.
The 50-member Chinese survey team used the technical parameters used back in 1975 as well as state-of-the-art GPS and laser technologies in measuring Mt Everest, he said.
Though Mt Everest is located on the Sino-Nepalese border, China did not seek the services of Nepal to conduct the survey since the 50-odd surveyors climbed the mountain from the northern or the Chinese side of the Himalayas, he said.
The successful measurement of Mt. Qomolangma will play a significant role in demonstrating China's overall national strength and surveying and mapping technology level, promoting geoscience research, he said, adding that the campaign of the elevation measurement of the world's highest peak will have a profound influence on the Chinese scientific community.
The mountaineers successfully climbed the peak on May 22, 2005 as part of the effort to conduct the scientific survey.
The 1975 effort was made by the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping and the Chinese People's Liberation Army.
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