Images from NASA's powerful radar system show a subsidence rate of more than 1.27 centimeters per month, making the city one of the fastest-sinking capitals. The sprawling metropolis of Mexico City, one of the world's largest cities, stretches along a high-altitude lake and sits atop an ancient aquifer that provides about 60 percent of the city's drinking water for its 22 million residents, CNN reports.
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Over the years, this aquifer has been so heavily pumped that the land above it has subsided. Over-extraction has also contributed to a chronic water crisis that has left Mexico City vulnerable to potential water shortages when taps run dry. The city's rapid subsidence is being exacerbated by relentless urban development, and new infrastructure is adding weight to the soil, which is mostly clay.
Mexico City's subsidence was first documented in the 1920s, and since then, residents have felt the effects, such as cracked roads, leaning buildings, and damage to the rail system. New images from the NISAR satellite, a project of NASA and the Indian Space Research Organization, reveal the scale of the problem in striking detail.
Between October 2025 and January 2026, during Mexico City's dry season, NISAR tracked ground movement beneath the city. Its results show that parts of the city are sinking at a rate of about 2.032 centimeters per month—more than 24.13 centimeters per year.
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Among the worst-hit areas is Benito Juarez International Airport, the city's main airport.
“Mexico City is a known hotspot when it comes to subsidence, and images like this are just the beginning for NISAR,” said David Bekaert, project leader at the Flemish Institute for Technological Research and a member of the NISAR science team . “We will see an influx of new discoveries from all over the world.”
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