Did you know that the Eiffel Tower's height changes each year?

On March 31, 1889, within the framework of the Universal Exhibition in Paris, the Eiffel Tower was inaugurated. At that time, it was the tallest building in the world.

So much so, that originally it was going to be called 'The Tower of 300 Meters' (984 feet). For 42 years, until the appearance of the Empire State Building in 1931 (381 meters/1250 feet), it maintained its dominant global position from above.

In fact, with the antennas that have been added in 1957, 2000 and 2022, the height of the Eiffel Tower now reaches 330 meters or 1082 feet tall, although it is still very far from the tallest monstrous buildings on the planet.

Photo: Pexels - Vedant Sharma

What not everyone knows is that the height of the Eiffel Tower varies every year and increases by up to 5.9 inches or 15 centimeters!

This is because the Eiffel Tower was made of puddle iron, a material resistant to all types of weather conditions but sensitive to thermal variations.

This peculiarity means that when temperatures rise, especially in summer, the Eiffel Tower tends to grow upwards.

This phenomenon is known as thermal expansion and causes the heat to increase the volume of the construction, also causing the tower to have a small inclination towards the sun.

Photo: Pexels - Jitendra Gidwani

The truth is that the sun only reaches one of the four sides of the Eiffel Tower, causing an imbalance between it and the other three sides, which generates a circular curve that can reach 15 centimeters in diameter.

And in winter the opposite happens, although not as pronounced. When temperatures reach -20ºC, the Eiffel Tower can lose a few centimeters.

For the peace of mind of those concerned about the construction of the tower, it should be said that these changes are minimal and do not have any impact on its structure, nor do strong winds, thanks to its ingenious design.

Photo: Pexels - Guillaume Meurice

By the way, the current tallest building in the world is the Burj Khalifa, in Dubai, which reaches 828 meters/2716 feet, that is, almost three times higher than the Eiffel Tower!