white airplane wing over the clouds during daytime

Photo by Cam on Unsplash

Mexico City Sinking Tracked by NASA Radar

scienceMay 9, 2026·349 words·3 min read

Mexico City is sinking at one of the fastest rates in the world, with new satellite imagery showing some districts dropping by more than two centimetres every month. The measurements come from NISAR (the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar), a joint mission between the United States space agency and the Indian Space Research Organisation that began detailed observations of the Mexican capital between October 2025 and January 2026.

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.

Read at other levels

A1Beginner87w A2Elementary142w B1Intermediate210w B2Upper-Intermediate276wPro

C1Advanced349w(current · Pro)