China’s urban infrastructure may fail before our eyes (VIDEO)

“Half of China’s cities are sinking, putting most of the country’s urban population at risk,” writes the American magazine Sceince. Sooner or later, 45% of Chinese cities are at risk of falling underground.

“Major cities in eastern China are drowning due to groundwater extraction and the sheer weight of buildings and infrastructure, putting the lives of millions of people at risk.

Nearly half of China’s major cities are already sagging, according to a new study.

Among the cities at risk were Beijing and Tianjin, located in the eastern part of the country. Combined with rising sea levels, land subsidence under cities might occur by 2120.
cause between 55 and 128 million people to become victims of floods.

The researchers measured the rate of land subsidence in every Chinese city with a population of more than 2 million people from 2015 to 2022. Of the 82 cities that were studied, 45 percent are sinking by more than 3 millimeters per year, and a further 16 percent by more than 10 mm per year.

These cities are home to three-quarters of China’s urban population, which stood at 920 million in 2020, the largest of any country in the world.

“The subsidence appears to be related to a number of factors, such as groundwater extraction and the weight of buildings. “Tall buildings are rising, road networks are expanding and groundwater is being used at a rapid pace.”