What’s the highest a mountain can grow on Earth?

Published

2 years ago

April 9, 2023

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Could a mountain grow to greater heights than Everest? (Image credit: sansubba)

Sixty million years ago, when the Eurasian plate slammed into the Indian plate, a mountain range was born. Because these plates were of similar density, neither could sink below the other. The rocks had nowhere to go but up.

Now, the Himalayas host Earth’s tallest mountains. Mount Everest is the tallest, towering 5.4 miles (8.8 kilometers) above sea level. After Everest, the tallest is K2, which rises 5.3 miles (8.6 km) above Earth’s surface.

Could these mountains be any higher? For that matter, how high could any mountain grow on Earth?

Theoretically, a mountain could be “quite a bit taller than Everest,” Gene Humphreys (opens in new tab) , a geophysicist at the University of Oregon, told Live Science. But first it would have to overcome a few challenges that many mountains face as they grow.

For instance, because of Earth’s gravitational pull, any pile of rock that grows into a mountain will start to slouch, “much like a wad of bread dough will slowly flatten when placed on a table,” Humphreys said.

Related: Is Mount Everest really the tallest mountain on Earth?

Active processes, like erosion, also help keep mountains from growing too tall. Glaciers, vast blocks of slowly moving ice, are especially good at carving up mountains.

The peak of Mount Everest sites above the clouds of Tibet. (Image credit: Nicole Kucera)

Earth scientists refer to glacial erosion as “the glacial buzzsaw because they are so effective at taking the sides off of mountains,” Humphreys said. “[Glacial erosion] creates a steep-sided mountain that is then prone to landsliding.”

The effects of erosion and gravity mean that “the bigger the mountain, the greater the stresses created by gravity and the stronger the tendency to collapse,” Humphreys said. And although Mount Everest “could conceivably get elevated yet higher, its steep south side seems unstable,” which might lead to landslides.

However, there are ways a mountain could grow taller than Everest, Humphreys continued. Possibly even 1 mile (1.6 km) taller — but only if the conditions were just right. First, it’d have to be formed from volcanic processes rather than from continental collision. Volcanic mountains, like the Hawaiian Islands, grow as they erupt. Lava flowing out of the volcanoes cools in layers, building the volcanoes higher and higher. And finally, for the mountain to keep growing, it would need a continuing source of magma pumped higher and higher, allowing it to erupt, flow down the mountain’s sides, and cool.

This volcanic process is exactly how the solar system’s tallest mountain, Mars’ Olympus Mons, formed. Towering 16 miles (25 km), Olympus Mons is so tall that it actually pokes through the top of the Red Planet’s atmosphere, Briony Horgan (opens in new tab) , a planetary scientist at Purdue University in Indiana, told Live Science.Related Mysteries—Which country has the most islands?

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Olympus Mons could get so tall because Mars lacks plate tectonics, the large rafts of crust that dominate Earth’s geological processes. Olympus Mons formed over a hotspot — a deep well of rising magma — that repeatedly erupted. Just like the Hawaiian Islands, that erupted lava would flow down the sides of the mountain and cool into a new layer of rock.

However, even though the Hawaiian Islands also formed over a hotspot, the Pacific plate keeps moving, so the islands won’t stay over the hotspot long enough for their volcanoes to become as large as a mountain like Olympus Mons.

“On Mars if you just have that same hotspot but the plate isn’t moving, you can make enormous, enormous volcanoes over the course of hundreds of millions or billions of years of activity,” Horgan said.

But even giants like Olympus Mons have a limit. According to Horgan, if the volcano is still active (so far, we haven’t observed any current activity), it’s likely nearing the end of its growth. This is because the pressure required to continue to pump magma to the top of the mountain might soon be unable to overcome the forces working against it — the height of the mountain and Mars’ own gravitational pull.

“You can think of a volcano basically as a pipe that you’re trying to pump lava through, and on some level, if it’s too big, too high, you don’t have enough power to get the lava through,” Horgan said.

UK

Starmer survives rebellion as watered-down welfare cuts pass key vote

Published

46 seconds ago

July 2, 2025

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Starmer survives rebellion as watered-down welfare cuts pass key vote

Sir Keir Starmer’s controversial welfare bill has passed its first hurdle in the Commons despite a sizeable rebellion from his MPs.

The prime minister’s watered-down Universal Credit and Personal Independent Payment Bill, aimed at saving £5.5bn, was backed by a majority of 75 on Tuesday evening.

A total of 49 Labour MPs voted against the bill – the largest rebellion since 47 MPs voted against Tony Blair’s Lone Parent benefit in 1997, according to Professor Phil Cowley from Queen Mary University.

Politics latest: Chancellor left in ‘impossible situation’ after PM survives welfare rebellion

After multiple concessions made due to threats of a Labour rebellion, many MPs questioned what they were voting for as the bill had been severely stripped down.

They ended up voting for only one part of the plan: a cut to Universal Credit (UC) sickness benefits for new claimants from £97 a week to £50 from 2026/7.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said the bill voted through “is not expected to deliver any savings over the next four years” because the savings from reducing the Universal Credit health element for new claimants will be roughly offset by the cost of increasing the UC standard allowance.

Just 90 minutes before voting started on Tuesday evening, disabilities minister Stephen Timms announced the last of a series of concessions made as dozens of Labour MPs spoke of their fears for disabled and sick people if the bill was made law.

How did your MP vote on Labour’s welfare bill?

In a major U-turn, he said changes in eligibility for the personal independence payment (PIP), the main disability payment to help pay for extra costs incurred, would not take place until a review he is carrying out into the benefit is published in autumn 2026.

An amendment brought by Labour MP Rachael Maskell, which aimed to prevent the bill progressing to the next stage, was defeated but 44 Labour MPs voted for it.

A Number 10 source told Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby: “Change isn’t easy, we’ve always known that, we’re determined to deliver on the mandate the country gave us, to make Britain work for hardworking people.

“We accept the will of the house, and want to take colleagues with us, our destination – a social security system that supports the most vulnerable, and enables people to thrive – remains.”

But the Conservative shadow chancellor Mel Stride called the vote “farcical” and said the government “ended up in this terrible situation” because they “rushed it”.

He warned the markets “will have noticed that when it comes to taking tougher decisions about controlling and spending, this government has been found wanting”.

Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall said: “I wish we’d got to this point in a different way. And there are absolutely lessons to learn.

“But I think it’s really important we pass this bill at the second reading, it put some really important reforms to the welfare system – tackling work disincentives, making sure that people with severe conditions would no longer be assessed and alongside our investment in employment support this will help people get back to work, because that’s the brighter future for them.”

She made further concessions on Monday in the hope the rebels’ fears would be allayed, but many were concerned the PIP eligibility was going to be changed at the same time the review was published, meaning its findings would not be taken into account.

Her changes were:

• Current PIP claimants, and any up to November 2026, would have the same eligibility criteria as they do now, instead of the stricter measure proposed

• A consultation into PIP to be “co-produced” with disabled people and published in autumn 2026

• For existing and future Universal Credit (UC) claimants, the combined value of the standard UC allowance and the health top-up will rise “at least in line with inflation” every year for the rest of this parliament

• The UC health top-up, for people with limited ability to work due to a disability or long-term sickness, will get a £300m boost next year – doubling the current amount – then rising to £800m the year after and £1bn in 2028/29.

World

Women’s Euros: Extreme heat warnings in place as tournament kicks off

Published

1 hour ago

July 1, 2025

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Women's Euros: Extreme heat warnings in place as tournament kicks off

The Women’s Euros begin in Switzerland today – with extreme heat warnings in place.

Security measures have had to be relaxed by UEFA for the opening matches so fans can bring in water bottles.

Temperatures could be about 30C (86F) when the Swiss hosts open their campaign against Norway in Basel this evening.

Players have already seen the impact of heatwaves this summer at the men’s Club World Cup in the US.

It is raising new concerns in the global players’ union about whether the stars of the sport are being protected in hot and humid conditions.

FIFPRO has asked FIFA to allow cooling breaks every 15 minutes rather than just in the 30th minute of each half.

There’s also a request for half-time to be extended from 15 to 20 minutes to help lower the core temperature of players.

FIFPRO’s medical director, Dr Vincent Gouttebarge, said: “There are some very challenging weather conditions that we anticipated a couple of weeks ago already, that was already communicated to FIFA.

“And I think the past few weeks were confirmation of all worries that the heat conditions will play a negative role for the performance and the health of the players.”

Football has seemed focused on players and fans baking in the Middle East – but scorching summers in Europe and the US are becoming increasingly problematic for sport.

While climate change is a factor, the issue is not new and at the 1994 World Cup, players were steaming as temperatures rose in the US.

There is now more awareness of the need for mitigation measures among players and their international union.

FIFPRO feels football officials weren’t responsive when it asked for kick-off times to be moved from the fierce afternoon heat in the US for the first 32-team Club World Cup.

FIFA has to balance the needs of fans and broadcasters with welfare, with no desire to load all the matches in the same evening time slots.

Electric storms have also seen six games stopped, including a two-hour pause during a Chelsea game at the weekend.

This is the dress rehearsal for the World Cup next summer, which is mostly in the US.

The use of more indoor, air conditioned stadiums should help.

There is no prospect of moving the World Cup to winter, as Qatar had to do in 2022.

And looking further ahead to this time in 2030, there will be World Cup matches in Spain, Portugal and Morocco. The temperatures this week have been hitting 40C (104F) in some host cities.

FIFA said in a statement to Sky News: “Heat conditions are a serious topic that affect football globally.

“At the FCWC some significant and progressive measures are being taken to protect the players from the heat. For instance, cooling breaks were implemented in 31 out of 54 matches so far.

“Discussions on how to deal with heat conditions need to take place collectively and FIFA stands ready to facilitate this dialogue, including through the Task Force on Player Welfare, and to receive constructive input from all stakeholders on how to further enhance heat management.

“In all of this, the protection of players must be at the centre.”