New research shows New York City is sinking, reports The Guardian. The increased flood threat is largely due to the weight of the skyscrapers. On the whole, it’s about 2 millimeters a year – but some parts of the city are sinking at a much faster rate.
At the same time as the city is sinking, the sea level is also rising rapidly due to the melting effect of the climate crisis on large glaciers. Since the 1950s, the water level around the metropolis has risen by 22 centimeters – and climate change is also expected to bring tougher weather conditions with floods and hurricanes, according to research.
“Facing different degrees of danger”
“A very densely populated area of 8.5 million inhabitants faces varying degrees of danger from flooding in New York”, write researchers in the new report published in Earth Future journal.
The authors also state that several overcrowded metropolises are facing a similar problem, as the climate crisis worsens.
“The combination of tectonic and anthropogenic subsidence, sea-level rise, and increasing hurricane intensity means an accelerating problem along coastal and riverine areas,” they write.
140 million elephants
But the situation is worst in New York, where the extensive construction constitutes a large part of the threat. The scientist’s calculations show that the state’s iconic skyscrapers are equivalent in weight to 140 million elephants.
– There is nothing to panic about immediately, but there is an ongoing process that increases the risk of flooding, says Tom Parsons, a geophysicist at the US Geological Survey, who led the new research.