Mexico City is sinking at an accelerating rate, with some areas descending more than 2 centimeters per month, according to data from NASA’s NISAR satellite. Built on a former lakebed, the city rests on a water-saturated aquifer that compacts as groundwater is extracted to support its 22 million residents. This subsidence has led to visible damage, including tilting monuments like the Angel of Independence and structural cracks across buildings and infrastructure.

The NISAR satellite, a joint mission between NASA and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), captured high-resolution radar images between October 2025 and January 2026. Its L-band radar can detect subtle ground changes through clouds and at night, making it ideal for monitoring land deformation. The data confirms that certain zones, shown in dark blue on subsidence maps, are sinking fastest.

While past estimates suggested up to 35cm of annual subsidence in the 1990s and 2000s, the new measurements provide more granular, real-time tracking. Scientists say this level of monitoring is critical not just for Mexico City, but for other coastal and densely populated regions facing combined threats of land subsidence and sea level rise.