'A Very Big Problem': Mexico City Is Sinking Up To 10 Inches A Year. NASA Says It's Visible From Space

Mexico City is slowly sinking, and in some places it’s going down by about 10 inches (25 cm) every year, according to new satellite data from NASA. This makes it one of the fastest-sinking big cities in the world.

The city is huge — covering around 3,000 square miles (7,800 square kilometres) and home to about 22 million people. It was built on top of an old lake bed, which is soft and not very stable. Because of this, the ground keeps sinking over time.

Long ago, many streets in the central areas were actually canals. Even today, in some outer rural parts, you can still see this old way of life, where water channels are used for transport and farming.

For many years, people in Mexico City have been pumping too much water from underground. This

has caused the aquifer (the natural water storage below the ground) to shrink. Because of this, the city has been slowly sinking for over 100 years.

As the ground sinks unevenly, many old buildings and monuments have started to tilt. One example is the Metropolitan Cathedral, whose construction began in 1573 — it now leans slightly to one side.

The shrinking aquifer has also created a serious water shortage, with the issue expected to get worse in the future.

‘A Very Big Problem’

Enrique Cabral, a researcher studying geophysics at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, said it damages a significant part of the critical infrastructure.

“It damages part of the critical infrastructure of Mexico City, such as the subway, the drainage system, the water, the potable water system, housing and streets,” he said, adding, “It’s a very big problem.”

According to reports, Mexico City is sinking so fast that the subsidence is visible from space.