Is the most northern part of Iceland still there?

Kolbeinsey is the most northern part of Iceland, a tiny island that, according to Wikipedia, is due to disappear due to wave erosion "probably around the year 2020". Which raised an obvious question: is it still there?

THANKS TO:
The folks at the Hafdals Hotel, who were okay with me filming from their spectacular view!

PHOTO CREDITS:

All photos of Kolbeinsey in 1989 and 2001 are copyright Guðmundur St. Valdimarsson, and used with permission and thanks.

Photos from 2013 are copyright of Landhelgisgæsla Íslands (the Icelandic Coast Guard), and used with permission and thanks.

SOURCES and FURTHER READING:

Jacobsen, T., & Stone, I. (2006). Kolbeinsey: Iceland's Arctic island. Polar Record, 42(2), 167-169. doi: 10.1017/s0032247406215298

From Landhelgisgæsla Íslands (the Icelandic Coast Guard):

(you can find contact details and social links there too)

[TomScottGo]

There are a lot of people to thank for helping this video come together; pull down the description to see them all!

[ThcPatient]

I'm just imagining Tom chartering that plane:

"Where do you want to go?"
"A rock in the middle of the ocean."
"Okay, and for what purpose?"
"To see if it's there."

[haydenweir]

“So I chartered a plane” is the most Tom Scott moment I’ve ever seen

[TheJhtlag]

Update: Wiki reference is still there:

" In August 2020, English YouTuber Tom Scott published a video confirming the continued existence of the island, with two skerries still visible at low tide.[13][14] In April 2021, the Icelandic Coast Guard visited the island and measured it as 20 meters wide from west to east and 14.5 meters long from north to south"

Looks like he goaded Iceland into making their own confirmation visit ;^)

[Thrano]

Audience: Can we see the island?
Tom: You'd have to charter a plane.
Audience: Aww :(
Tom: So I chartered a plane!
Audience: Yay :D

[joeym]

Shortly after the camera cuts, Tom adorns himself with his RAF uniform and opens the bay doors to release a payload onto the island, once and for all ending Iceland's hopes and dreams of winning the Cod War

[lindybeige]

I thought that in order to be counted as an island, a piece of land had to be above the sea level all the time, and so a piece of land that is submerged at high tide would not count.

[silvereaglexi]

Tom Scott using his YouTube channel as a cover for a top secret recon mission ordered by the Queen herself.

[voyager]

"Is there really ice on mars? To see if it's there, you would need to rent a rocket... So I rented rocket!"

- Tom Scott, 2045

[skrdman]

Tom Scott: "I couldn't risk being wrong on the internet, so I waited until 2020 and chartered a plane to prove whether a rock exists."

[Dave-hntl]

The wikipedia article now says that it "was expected to disappear in the near future, probably around the year 2020, based upon rates of erosion data from 1994. Although, as of August 2020, a small part still remains visible during low tide." This video is listed as one of the sources.

Edit: A week and a day later, the article now says "Erosion rate data from 1994 suggested that this would happen around 2020. However, as of August 2020, two small sections of the island remain visible during low tide." and "In August 2020, YouTuber Tom Scott uploaded a video which confirmed the continued—albeit further eroded—existence of the island at low tide."

[Spankypenguin]

Me: I don't care about an uninhabitable bit of rock north of Iceland
Tom: Starts talking about an uninhabitable bit of rock north of Iceland
Me: Get out there Tom, I gotta know if it's still there!

[theskilllessgamer]

Small update: last time someone checked and published if teh ridge was still there was in April 2021. Thats two years ago, time for someone to check and tell, again. Also this video made it to the German wikipedia about Kolbeinsey as a source that officially documents its lasts years. Gratz Tom, you made history. :)

[GeoQuag]

Tom casually visiting places that might not even exist

[zyaicob]

"SO I CHARTERED A PLANE"

i was expecting this to be a story about managing expectations and how not everything makes a great story because not everything is feasible to confirm but this is way better

[Metawen]

"In August 2020, English YouTuber Tom Scott published a video confirming the continued existence of the island, with two skerries still visible at low tide.[13][14] In April 2021, the Icelandic Coast Guard visited the island and measured it as 20 meters wide from west to east and 14.5 meters long from north to south.[4][5]"

[joen]

I suspect if the island wasn’t there, the Icelandic pilots would have thrown him out the plane in order to protect their country’s fishing rights.

[OkamioftheRinnegan]

The sister series to Things You Might Not Know: Places That Might Not Exist

[gravitysilence]

Never did I ever imagine that I'd hear Tom Scott mention the SCP wiki, even if only indirectly when talking about someone who had inspired a video. Hearing the acronym title of one of my favourite internet community projects spoken by one of my favourite YouTubers is a surprise, to be sure, but a welcome one.

[Woopady]

I’m 3m 51s into this video and I’m stressed. Why am I so invested in whether a rock north of Iceland is still there? 4 minutes ago I didn’t even know it ever existed.