World May 07, 2026 · 1 min read

Up to 2cm a month: Nasa keeps track as Mexico City sinks into the ground

Powerful radar system is providing new data on city’s subsidence, which experts hope will draw more attention to itWalking into Mexico City’s sprawling central Zócalo is a dizzying experience. At one end of the plaza, the capital’s cathedral, with its soaring spires, slumps in one direction. An atta...

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The Guardian
by Oscar Lopez in Mexico City
Up to 2cm a month: Nasa keeps track as Mexico City sinks into the ground

Powerful radar system is providing new data on city’s subsidence, which experts hope will draw more attention to it

Walking into Mexico City’s sprawling central Zócalo is a dizzying experience. At one end of the plaza, the capital’s cathedral, with its soaring spires, slumps in one direction. An attached church, known as the Metropolitan Sanctuary, tilts in the other. The nearby National Palace also seems off-kilter.

The teetering of many of the capital’s historic buildings is the most visible sign of a phenomenon that has been ongoing for more than a century: Mexico City is sinking at an alarming rate.

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This article was originally published by The Guardian and written by Oscar Lopez in Mexico City.

Read original article on The Guardian
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