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Nasa’s chilling space image: One of the world’s largest cities is sinking almost 10 inches a year
Decades of excessive groundwater extraction have caused the land above to gradually collapse.
During the dry season between October 2025 and January 2026, the satellite mapped shifts beneath the city (Photo: Pexels)
One of the world’s largest cities is sinking at a pace so dramatic that it can now be observed from space. A new image released by Nasa revealed that parts of Mexico City are subsiding by more than half an inch each month, making it among the fastest-sinking capitals globally.
According to Nasa, Mexico City was built on what was once a high-altitude lakebed. Beneath it lies an ancient aquifer that supplies roughly 60 per cent of the drinking water for its 22 million residents.
Groundwater extraction, urban expansion
Decades of excessive groundwater extraction have depleted this resource, causing the land above to gradually collapse. The same overuse has also intensified an ongoing water crisis, raising fears of a “day zero” scenario, when water supplies could run out entirely, a Nasa report said.
Rapid urban expansion has only worsened the situation. Continuous construction adds weight to the already unstable, clay-heavy soil, accelerating the sinking process.
Land subsidence in Mexico City was first recorded in the 1920s, and since then, its consequences have become increasingly visible, such as cracked roads, leaning buildings, and disruptions to transportation infrastructure.
Mexico City is sinking (Photo: Nasa)
Ground movements in Mexico
Recent observations from NISAR, a joint mission between Nasa and the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro), have provided a clearer and more detailed picture of the crisis. Designed to monitor complex Earth processes, NISAR can detect even subtle ground movements.
During the dry season between October 2025 and January 2026, the satellite mapped shifts beneath the city and found that some areas are sinking by as much as 0.8 inches per month, which is equivalent to over 9.5 inches annually.
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One of the hardest-hit zones is Benito Juárez International Airport. The report further stated that the Angel of Independence, a 114-foot structure erected in 1910 to mark a century of independence, has had 14 additional steps added to its base over time as the surrounding ground has sunk.
“Mexico City is a well-known hot spot when it comes to subsidence, and images like this are just the beginning for NISAR,” Nasa quoted David Bekaert, a project manager at the Flemish Institute for Technological Research and a member of the NISAR science team.
“We’re going to see an influx of new discoveries from all over the world,” Bekaert added.
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