Mexico City is sinking at such an alarming rate that it’s visible from the space. Imagery from a powerful NASA radar system is revealing subsidence rates of more than 0.5 inches a month — making the city one of the planet’s fasting-sinking capitals.The sprawling metropolis, also one of the world’s 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’s 22 million residents.Over the years, this aquifer has been so over-pumped that it’s caused the land above it to subside. Over-extraction has also contributed to a chronic water crisis that has left the Mexico City facing a potential day zero, where taps run dry.AdvertisementAdvertisementThe city’s rapid sinking has been exacerbated by relentless urban development, with new infrastructure adding extra weight on top of the clay-rich soil.Mexico City’s 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.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.NISAR was designed to map some of the planet’s most complex processes and is able to track subtle motions such as land sinking. It’s one of the most powerful radar systems ever launched into space, according to NASA.New data from NISAR shows parts of Mexico City subsided by roughly 0.8 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. – David Bekaert/JPL-Caltech/NASABetween October 2025 and January 2026, during Mexico City’s 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 — that’s more than 9.5 inches every year.AdvertisementAdvertisementAreas most affected include the Benito Juarez …
