Sinking Cities

When we talk about the problems coastal cities face, like flooding from the climate crisis, there's another issue that often goes unnoticed: sinking land. This happens when the ground goes down, and it's making the flooding problem even worse. In this article, we'll explore why this is happening, what it means for us, and some ways people are trying to fix it.

The Sneaky Culprit:

In many coastal cities, the ground is sinking faster than the sea is rising. What's causing this? Surprisingly, it's our big need for water. As we take water from underground, the land starts to sink.

Understanding Sinking:

Sinking land, or subsidence, is not just about floods. It also damages buildings, roads, and other important things. We didn't always notice this problem until technology, like radar from satellites, started helping us see these changes in the ground.

Global Impact:

A study in 2022 looked at 99 coastal cities around the world. It found that in 33 of them, the land is sinking more than 10 millimeters every year. That's much faster than the sea level rise caused by the climate crisis. Asia is having the fastest sinking, with places in Jakarta sinking 28 centimeters each year. A lot of people, about 1.2 billion, live in areas where the land is sinking a lot.

Heavy Cities:

Buildings do make the land sink a bit, but they're not the main reason. A study in 2023 showed that all the buildings in New York weigh a lot—more than all the people in the city! Still, New York sinking is not as much compared to other places.

Water Problem:

The biggest reason cities are sinking globally is because we take too much water from underground. As cities grow, we need more water, so we take it from underground. But this causes the ground to sink. When we take water from the ground, it's not like taking it from a big underground lake. It's more like taking it from tiny spaces in rocks and soil. This makes those spaces collapse, and the ground sinks.

Solutions in Sight:

To stop sinking, we need to use less underground water. It's not easy, especially if a city doesn't have another way to get fresh water. A lot of household and farm water, about 30% and 40%, comes from the ground globally. Some places are making rules to limit how much water we take from underground, and it's working in some cases. Jakarta did this in 2010, and the sinking slowed down.

People are also trying new things, like putting water back into the ground to stop sinking. In Perth, Australia, they lifted the ground by putting water back into the ground using a well. It's like a water bank, but it's not perfect and can be expensive.

Understanding the challenges faced by coastal cities, such as rising seas and sinking land, is crucial for finding solutions. Sinking land, often overlooked, poses a serious threat that demands our attention. Fortunately, technology allows us to detect the issue early, and innovative approaches like putting water back into the ground offer hope for the future.

Coastal cities are facing a double problem. We need to pay attention to the sinking issue and find ways to fix it. The road ahead is about understanding the problem and finding smart ways to protect our coastal cities.

Thank you for joining us on this exploration of the unseen threats below. We hope this article has shed light on an issue that affects us all. Stay informed, stay curious, and together, let's work towards a sustainable and resilient future for our coastal cities.

Goodbye for now, and until our next journey together!!