One of the planet’s biggest cities is sinking so rapidly it’s visible from space
CNN • • world
Key Points:
- NASA's NISAR satellite has revealed that Mexico City is sinking at rates exceeding 0.5 inches per month, making it one of the fastest-sinking capitals globally.
- The city's subsidence is primarily due to over-extraction of water from an ancient aquifer beneath it, which supplies about 60% of the drinking water for its 22 million residents.
- Rapid urban development adds weight to the clay-rich soil, exacerbating the sinking, which has caused infrastructure damage, including fractured roads and tilted buildings.
- NISAR's detailed radar imagery shows some areas, including Benito Juarez International Airport, sinking at about 0.8 inches monthly, with notable landmarks like the Angel of Independence monument requiring structural adjustments.
- The NISAR satellite, a joint NASA and Indian Space Research Organization project, is designed to monitor complex Earth processes, promising further insights into subsidence and other natural phenomena worldwide.
