{"id":775812,"date":"2026-05-05T21:51:20","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T21:51:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/775812\/"},"modified":"2026-05-05T21:51:20","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T21:51:20","slug":"one-of-the-planets-biggest-cities-is-sinking-so-rapidly-its-visible-from-space","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/775812\/","title":{"rendered":"One of the planet\u2019s biggest cities is sinking so rapidly it\u2019s visible from space"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph_elevate\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmosnwuqs000x27p3gah2834i@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            Mexico City is sinking at such an alarming rate that it\u2019s visible from the space. Imagery from a powerful NASA radar system is revealing subsidence rates of more than 0.5 inches a month \u2014 making the city one of the planet\u2019s fasting-sinking capitals.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph_elevate\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmosrclz800033b6qv77uw91p@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            The sprawling metropolis, also one of the world\u2019s biggest cities, stretches out across a high-altitude lake and sits atop an ancient aquifer, which provides around 60% of drinking water for the city\u2019s 22 million residents.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph_elevate\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmosrclz800043b6qt3n20pka@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            Over the years, this aquifer has been so over-pumped that it\u2019s caused the land above it to subside. Over-extraction has also contributed to a chronic water crisis that has left the Mexico City <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2024\/02\/25\/climate\/mexico-city-water-crisis-climate-intl\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">facing a potential day zero<\/a>, where taps run dry.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph_elevate\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmosrclz800053b6q5se95062@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            The city\u2019s rapid sinking has been exacerbated by relentless urban development, with new infrastructure adding extra weight on top of the clay-rich soil.\n    <\/p>\n<p>    \u26c5 Get CNN Weather in your inbox<\/p>\n<ul data-editable=\"items\" class=\"factbox__items factbox__items--ul\">\n<li data-editable=\"items.0.text\" class=\"factbox-elevate__item vossi-factbox_elevate__item inline-placeholder\">The forecast is just the beginning. We\u2019ll\u202fsend you expert coverage and the stories behind the weather \u2014 so you always know more than just the number. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/newsletters\/weather-alerts?source=growth_nl-acq_st-web_wx_nsub_v1\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Sign up for the newsletter<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph_elevate\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmosrclz800063b6q0gc1lmtt@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            Mexico City\u2019s subsidence was first documented in the 1920s, and in the years since, residents have experienced the impacts, with fractured roads, tilted buildings and damage to the train system.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph_elevate\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmosrclz800073b6q8xs7auht@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            New imagery from the NISAR satellite, a project between NASA and the Indian Space Research Organization, reveals the extent of the problem in startling detail.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph_elevate\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmosrclz800083b6qnwr0gbds@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            NISAR was designed to map some of the planet\u2019s most complex processes and is able to track subtle motions such as land sinking. It\u2019s one of the most powerful radar systems ever launched into space, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/missions\/nisar\/us-indian-space-mission-maps-extreme-subsidence-in-mexico-city\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">according to NASA<\/a>.\n    <\/p>\n<p>       <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1-pia26709-mexico-city.jpg\" alt=\"New data from NISAR shows parts of Mexico City subsided by roughly 0.8&lt;strong&gt; &lt;\/strong&gt;inches per month (shown in blue) between October 25, 2025, and January 17, 2026. Uneven and seemingly small elevation changes have added up over the decades, fracturing roads, buildings and water lines.\" class=\"image__dam-img image__dam-img--loading\" onload=\"this.classList.remove('image__dam-img--loading')\" onerror=\"imageLoadError(this)\" height=\"2580\" width=\"3000\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph_elevate\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmosrclz800093b6q93hoxf2r@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            Between October 2025 and January 2026, during Mexico City\u2019s dry season, NISAR mapped the movement of the ground beneath the city. Its findings reveal that parts of the city are sinking at a rate of around 0.8 inches a month \u2014 that\u2019s more than 9.5 inches every year.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph_elevate\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmosrclz8000a3b6qy9oroys1@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            Areas most affected include the Benito Juarez International Airport, the city\u2019s primary airport.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph_elevate\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmoss9w7g00103b6qlh7c3w0n@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            One city landmark reveals the impacts of sinking. The 114-foot high Angel of Independence monument, built in 1910 to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of Mexico\u2019s independence, has needed <a href=\"https:\/\/mexicocity.cdmx.gob.mx\/venues\/el-angel-independencia\/?lang=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">14 steps added<\/a> to its base as the ground beneath it sinks.\n    <\/p>\n<p>       <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/gettyimages-2268837187.jpg\" alt=\"The Angel of Independence monument in Mexico City on April 1, 2026.\" class=\"image__dam-img image__dam-img--loading\" onload=\"this.classList.remove('image__dam-img--loading')\" onerror=\"imageLoadError(this)\" height=\"1848\" width=\"3000\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph_elevate\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmosrclz8000b3b6qoc9kl555@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            \u201cMexico City is a well-known hot spot when it comes to subsidence, and images like this are just the beginning for NISAR,\u201d said David Bekaert, a project manager at the Flemish Institute for Technological Research and a member of the NISAR science team. \u201cWe\u2019re going to see an influx of new discoveries from all over the world.\u201d\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph_elevate\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmosrclz8000c3b6qg1a8i3cn@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            The satellite is also able to track other planetary processes such as glaciers sliding or crops growing, as well as natural disasters such as volcanic eruptions.\n    <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mexico City is sinking at such an alarming rate that it\u2019s visible from the space. Imagery from a&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":775813,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[746,159,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-775812","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-environment","9":"tag-science","10":"tag-united-states","11":"tag-unitedstates","12":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116524186742611251","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/775812","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=775812"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/775812\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/775813"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=775812"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=775812"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=775812"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}