October 29, 2025

India's biggest cities are facing a shocking threat from below! A fresh study published in Nature Sustainability warns us that over-extraction of groundwater is causing land to sink — and this is hitting cities like New Delhi, Mumbai, and Chennai hard. Imagine this: around 2,400 buildings are already standing on shaky ground, at high risk of damage. But hold on, the problem could soon get worse. Experts say that 20,000 more buildings might become vulnerable within the next 50 years! How did scientists figure this out? They used super-advanced satellite radar data covering the years from 2015 to 2023, scanning roughly 13 million buildings across five cities. The result? A huge area of 878 square kilometers — that’s 339 square miles of city land — is sinking! Susanna Werth, assistant professor of hydrology and remote sensing at Virginia Tech and co-author of the study, explained the problem clearly: "When cities pump more water from aquifers than nature can replenish, the ground quite literally sinks." She added, "Our study shows that this overexploitation of groundwater is directly linked to structural weakening in urban areas." Why is India’s groundwater under such heavy pressure? The country is the world’s largest user of groundwater, pulling out more than China and the US combined, according to a 2022 World Bank report. Most of this water goes to the huge agriculture sector, and many parts of India already face serious water stress. What’s the big danger of this sinking land? Apart from flooding and earthquakes, the uneven sinking can damage building foundations and utility lines, making cities unsafe for people. This problem isn't unique to India. Cities like Venice, Bangkok, and New Jersey face similar sinking troubles. Even Indonesia is planning to move its capital because Jakarta is sinking due to groundwater loss. The clock is ticking! If we want to save our cities’ buildings and infrastructure from going downhill — literally — it’s time to think about smarter water use and better city planning. Because the ground beneath our feet is more fragile than we think!

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Tags: Groundwater overuse, Land subsidence, Urban buildings risk, India cities sinking, Satellite study, Infrastructure damage,