The department came to this conclusion on the basis of data obtained from a Global Positioning System (GPS) survey carried out continuously for 24 hours four days after the deadly earthquake, Director General of the Department, Madhu Sudhan Adhikari, said at a press conference on Wednesday.
Kathmandu Valley was 1,338 meters above sea level before the earthquake."But after the quake, the altitude of the Valley has increased slightly, by around 80 centimeters," said Adhikari.He said that the altitude of the Valley increased as the Indian tectonic plate moved further under the Tibetan plate during the earthquake, which has killed 7,625 people and injured thousands.
The department carried out the GPS survey from five control stations on hills surrounding the Valley. "We carried out the GPS survey from our control points at Nagarkot hill in Bhaktapur district, Phulchowki hill of Lalitpur district, Lakhe hill of Bungmati, Swayambhu in Kathmandu district and Kumari hill of Nuwakot district," he said.
He further said the department also took references from control stations in 13 different countries to further verify the change in the altitude of the Valley.
He said the Valley's geographical location has shifted slightly toward the south-west during the quake. "The distance of the shift is estimated to be 1.5 meters on average," he added.
The department said that Nagarkot hill has shifted toward the south-west by 1.82 meters, Phulchowki by 0.92 meter, Lakhe by 0.99, Swayambhu by 1.64 and Kumari by 1.71 meters. "Likewise, the height of the hills also increased by 1.5 meters on average, which as a result increased the altitude of the Valley by 80 centimeters," he said.
Director General Adhikari also said that the displacement of the hills during the earthquake may have caused cracks in several hill sections, which may trigger landslides during the monsoon.
The department has made it clear that there will be no differences in the measurements of land, the plot numbers or ownership.
However, the department had no comment on the height of Mt. Everest, which is 8848 meters, though reports are coming in that the world's highest mountain saw a slight decrease in height.
Meanwhile, Subodh Gautam, a geologist, said it was too early to predict the possible implications of changes in elevation. "We can't predict this right now because aftershocks are still ocurring and the plates are yet to stabilize," he said. "Any findings will be closer to reality only if the study is done after the quake has settled."
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