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19h ago

NASA–ISRO Satellite Maps Mexico City’s Rapid Sinking From Space

Public NISAR radar data gives planners a new tool to track the sinking.

FILE - An aerial view of the Xochimilcol canals in Mexico City, Feb. 16, 2022. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte, File)
FILE - A view of Mexico City as seen from the Iztapalapa neighborhood, April 30, 2020. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte, File)
FILE - Cars drive past the Angel of Independence monument in Mexico City, June 1, 2017. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte, File)
FILE - Pedestrians walk past a slightly tilted historic building in downtown Mexico City, June 15, 2016. The city was built on a drained lake bed and many buildings are noticeably tilted, from sinking unevenly into the soft earth over decades or centuries. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)

Overview

  • New NISAR imagery from NASA and ISRO shows parts of Mexico City dropping by more than half an inch a month, with local rates near 2 centimeters per month and roughly 25 centimeters per year.
  • The maps draw on passes collected Oct. 25, 2025 to Jan. 17, 2026 during the dry season and highlight fast-subsiding zones across the former lakebed, including areas near the main airport and along the Angel of Independence corridor.
  • Scientists tie the sinking to long-term groundwater pumping that compacts soft lakebed clays, a change that does not rebound and has cracked metro tunnels, buckled roads, broken water lines, and tilted historic buildings.
  • NISAR carries dual-frequency L-band and S-band radar with a 12-day revisit, and JPL says bright yellow and red patches in early images are likely noise that should fade as more passes build a stronger baseline.
  • All data are free via the Alaska Satellite Facility, which had released over 100,000 products by late February 2026, and researchers expect these maps to guide mitigation in the city and similar monitoring worldwide, especially in low-lying coasts.