Earlier this class , a study using satellite data point receive thatNew York City is sinkingat the comparatively dissipated rate of 1 - 2 millimetre per year across the metropolis , with some urban areas lapse much faster than others .
According to the squad , one contributing divisor is the out-and-out weight of the city ’s high - upgrade buildings . While touch on , it is far from the fastest - sinking city in the Earth .
Cities sink for multiple reasons , from the weightiness of the building toover - pumping of groundwater . In 2022 , one squad measured the subsidence rates of 99 coastal city in danger of flooding as they sink , using satellite data compile between 2015 and 2020 . They found that in most cities , part of the land issubsidingfaster than sea levels are rising , meaning that these city could be at peril of flooding sooner than models had previously predicted .
" The most speedy subsiding is occurring in South , Southeast , and East Asia . However , rapid subsidence is also happening in North America , Europe , Africa , and Australia , " the squad write in theirstudy . " Human activity – primarily groundwater descent – is likely the independent cause of this subsidence . "
Tianjin , China , was find to be sinking the most at 5.22 centimeters ( 2.06 inches ) per yr , followed by Semarang , Indonesia at 3.96 centimetre ( 1.56 inches ) per year , and Jakarta at 3.44 centimeters ( 1.35 inch ) per year . The only US urban center to appear in thetop 10was Houston , sinking at a rate of 1.95 centimeters ( 0.77 column inch ) per yr .
However , the urban center doubtlessly slide down the fastest is Mexico City , Mexico . Astudyin 2021 showed that the city has been sinking at a fairly constant rate of 50 cm ( 19.69 column inch ) per year since 1950 . The subsidence is not the result of groundwater pumping , but because ofcompactionof the clay - fertile lake layer on which Mexico City was built .
" As of 2020 , on average the upper aquitard is 17 % compacted and we estimate that under the current stipulation it may take ∼150 years to touch full crunch , which will extend to additional subsidence up to 30 [ meters ] , " the squad wrote in their newspaper publisher , adding , " Even if body of water levels were to be raised , there is no promise for recovering the great absolute majority of the lost elevation and the lost storage capacity of the aquitard . "
