India's friend is in BIG trouble as its 28 major cities are sinking, here's why

The land underneath the 28 most populous cities in the US is sinking. These cities include New York, Seattle and Washington DC, The Washington Post reported. According to new research, the sinking is threatening the structural integrity of buildings, roads, dams and other forms of infrastructure. Known as subsidence, it is not happening in the same way in each place. The study by Virginia Tech researchers, published in the journal Nature Cities on Thursday, used satellite-based radar measurements to visualise the movement of the land underneath these cities.

Why is it happening?

The study claimed that it is largely happening due to groundwater extraction. Researchers say removing groundwater caused 80 per cent of sinkage across the cities. About 34 million people live in the subsiding areas, according to the study. The cities with the most widespread decline include: Chicago, Dallas, Columbus, Ohio, and more.

At least 20 per cent of urban areas are sinking, the researchers said. In 25 of the cities, they found that at least 65 per cent of the area is sinking, and more than 29,000 buildings are located in "high and very high damage risk areas, indicating a greater likelihood of infrastructure damage." 

Texas is home to the fastest subsiding places in the country, which also pump a lot of oil and gas. Houston (Texas) was the fastest-sinking city out of those studied, with 42 per cent of its land area subsiding faster than 5 mm per year, researchers found.

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