Mexico City sinking at alarming rate visible from space, NASA warns

Mexico City is subsiding so rapidly that the movement can now be detected from space, according to new satellite data from NASA.

The Mexican capital, home to around 22 million people, is sinking by nearly 25 centimetres (10 inches) a year in some areas, placing it among the fastest-sinking major cities in the world, The Independent writes.

Built on an ancient lake bed, the city has long been affected by land subsidence. However, scientists say the process has accelerated due to decades of groundwater extraction and rapid urban expansion, which have depleted the underlying aquifer.

Researchers warn the sinking ground is damaging key infrastructure, including the metro system, roads, drainage networks and historic buildings such as the Metropolitan Cathedral. Some structures are already visibly tilting.

“We have one of the fastest velocities of land subsidence in the whole world,” said Enrique Cabral, a geophysicist at the National Autonomous University of Mexico.

NASA’s findings are based on data from the NISAR satellite, which tracked surface changes between October 2025 and January 2026. In some locations, including around the main airport and the Angel of Independence monument, land is sinking by about 2 centimetres a month.

Over the past century, parts of the city are estimated to have dropped more than 12 metres in total.

Scientists say the findings highlight the worsening water crisis in the capital, as continued aquifer depletion drives both subsidence and water shortages. Officials have begun increasing research efforts, but experts warn long-term solutions are urgently needed.

“To do long-term mitigation of the situation, the first step is to just understand,” Cabral added.

By Aghakazim Guliyev