New York Is Sinking: The Weight of Skyscrapers and Climate Change Threatens the City’s Future

According to a study published in the scientific journal Earth’s Future, New York is sinking by 1 to 2 millimeters per year, can we read in particular on Le Figaro. And that’s just an average! In some areas and neighborhoods, like Brooklyn and Queens, the city would even sink twice as fast due to the nature of the ground. If some buildings are built on solid rock, others were built on clay and sandy soils, which aggravates the sinking.

This subsidence is not without risk: it represents a major threat of flooding to the city at the very time when the sea level continues to rise. According to the authors of the study, the rise in water levels would be three to four times greater than the global average along the Atlantic coast of North America. To give you an idea, the water has risen by 22 cm since 1950 in this city on the east coast of the United States. Taking this data and extreme weather events into account, storm-induced flooding could be up to four times more frequent by the end of the century.

New York is not the only city in this situation since Jakarta sees certain parts sinking by almost 11 centimeters per year with the extraction of groundwater. The capital of Indonesia could also be under water by 2050, can we also read on 20 Minutes.