"Hint to reporters: 2.5 cm is a distance, not a rate."
I figure "she" (Hira seems to be a female name from Facebook entries) got distracted but "A rate of 2.5 cm?????" just needed a time period: per minute, hour, year, 1000 years, a million years, etc. but as you note its a useless fact without an associated time period.
I'm betting its more an 2.5 cm per week, Any takers?