Archive · 28 Jan 2026
Sinking Land Threatens Coastal Cities More Than Rising Seas
Scientists have found that the land in many coastal areas is sinking faster than the sea is rising.
This is happening because people are taking too much water from underground, building cities, and blocking the natural flow of sediments.
Places like Thailand, Indonesia, and parts of Asia are sinking the fastest.
This makes these areas more likely to flood and lose land.
Scientists say we need to stop this sinking by managing water better and planning cities more carefully, or many people could be forced to leave their homes.
Land subsidence is causing river deltas to sink faster than sea levels are rising, threatening millions of people.
Over half of the 40 studied deltas are sinking at more than 3 mm per year, with some sinking twice as fast as sea levels.
Human activities like groundwater extraction, reduced sediment supply, and urban growth are the main causes of subsidence.
More than 80% of the 76 million people living in low-lying delta areas are on sinking land, especially in South and Southeast Asia.
Preventing subsidence requires local actions like regulating groundwater use, restoring sediment flows, and better city planning.
- Who
- Scientists and researchers studying 40 major river deltas
- What
- Land subsidence driven by human activity is causing deltas to sink faster than sea levels are rising
- When
- Between 2014 and 2023
- Where
- Across 40 major river deltas, particularly in South and Southeast Asia
- Why
- Human activities such as groundwater extraction, reduced sediment supply, and urban growth are accelerating land subsidence
- Affected Regions
- South and Southeast Asia
- Sinking Rate
- More than 3 mm per year in over half of the deltas
- Population at Risk
- More than 80% of 76 million people in delta areas less than one metre above sea level
- Main Causes
- Groundwater extraction, reduced sediment supply, urban growth
- Prevention Measures
- Regulating groundwater extraction, restoring sediment flows, recharging aquifers, careful city planning
- High-Risk Deltas
- Nearly two-thirds of the studied deltas
- Study Period
- 2014 to 2023
- Key Deltas
- Nile, Mekong, Yellow River, Chao Phraya, Brantas