Share to ClassroomNASA Satellite Watches Mexico City Sink
Mexico City is sinking very fast. New satellite pictures show that some areas drop more than two centimetres every month. The pictures come from a satellite called NISAR. NASA, the United States space agency, built it together with India's space agency. The satellite checked the city every twelve days from October 2025 to January 2026. The worst sinking is near the airport and the Angel of Independence, an old city monument. But the whole city of 22 million people is going down slowly.
The problem started long ago. Mexico City was built on an old lake bed. The ground there is soft. When people pump water from underground, the soft soil shrinks. Today, about half of the city's water still comes from underground, and the water level there is falling about 40 centimetres every year. Records show the city has been sinking since at least 1925.
People can see the damage in the city. Old buildings lean. The Metropolitan Cathedral tilts to one side. Pipes crack and lose about 40 per cent of the city's water. The Angel of Independence has had 14 extra steps added since 1910 because the ground keeps falling. Scientists hope NISAR will help save buildings — but stopping the sinking would leave millions without water.
