diff --git a/esmvalcore/cmor/_fixes/cmip6/gfdl_cm4.py b/esmvalcore/cmor/_fixes/cmip6/gfdl_cm4.py
index 7cdf0e9031..274a495bc7 100644
--- a/esmvalcore/cmor/_fixes/cmip6/gfdl_cm4.py
+++ b/esmvalcore/cmor/_fixes/cmip6/gfdl_cm4.py
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ def fix_metadata(self, cubes):
         """
         cube = self.get_cube_from_list(cubes)
         try:
-            cube.coord('height')
+            cube.coord('height').attributes.pop('description')
         except iris.exceptions.CoordinateNotFoundError:
             add_scalar_height_coord(cube, 2.0)
         return cubes