Mexico City, a sprawling metropolis of 22 million people built atop an ancient lake bed, is sinking at a rate of nearly 10 inches each year, according to satellite data released this week by NASA. The measurements, captured by the NISAR satellite between October 2025 and January 2026, show the capital subsiding so rapidly that the changes are visible from space, with some locations — including the main airport and the iconic Angel of Independence monument — dropping by an average of 0.78 inches per month.
The city, which covers 3,000 square miles and was founded on the drained basin of Lake Texcoco, has been sinking for more than a century as extensive groundwater pumping and urban development have shrunk the aquifer beneath it. Many downtown streets were once canals, and older landmarks such as the Metropolitan Cathedral, whose construction began in 1573, are visibly tilted.
Enrique Cabral, a researcher studying geophysics at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, said the subsidence “damages part of the critical infrastructure of Mexico City, such as the subway, the drainage system, the water, the potable water system, housing and streets.” The contracting aquifer has also contributed to a chronic water crisis that is only expected to worsen, he added, calling the situation “a very big problem.”
The NASA estimates are based on measurements taken by NISAR, a joint satellite initiative between the U.S. space agency and the Indian Space Research Organization that can track real-time changes on the Earth’s surface. Paul Rosen, a NISAR scientist, said the project is “telling us something about what’s actually happening below the surface” and called it “basically documentation of all of these changes within a city.”
Rosen said “you can see the full magnitude of the problem” and that the team hopes to eventually achieve building-by-building resolution. The technology could be applied globally to track natural disasters, changes in fault lines, and the effects of climate change, and to strengthen early warning systems for events such as volcanic eruptions.
For Mexico City, Cabral said the satellite data marks a significant advance. The government had for decades largely neglected the problem beyond stabilizing foundations under monuments like the cathedral, but recent flare-ups of the water crisis have prompted officials to fund more research. “To do long-term mitigation of the situation,” Cabral said, “the first step is to just understand.”