Nearly half of China's major cities are sinking – some 'rapidly'
Nearly half of China’s major cities are sinking — some ‘rapidly’

        

        
            
        
        
            
                
                    

    
        
            
                NEWS
                18 April 2024
                
            

            

            
                
                
                    Tens of millions of people in the country’s coastal lands might find their homes below sea level by 2120 owing to sinking and sea-level rise.
                
            
        
        
            
    
        
            
                
                    Xiaoying You
                
                
                    
                        
                            Xiaoying You is a writer based in London.
                        
                    
                
                
                    
                
            
        
    

        
    
    


                    
                        
    
            
            
    
    
        
            Scientists are saying that this subsidence could be because of groundwater depletion, among other factors. Credit: Chen Jie/VCG via Getty
        
    

                    
                    
            
            


        
            
                
                    
                        

                        
                    
                
            

            
                
                    
                    
                

                

                
                    One in ten residents of China’s coastal cities could be living below sea level within a century, as a result of land subsidence and climate change, according to a paper published in Science today1.
                    
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                doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-01149-7

            ReferencesAo, Z. et al. Science 384, 301–306 (2024).Article 
    
                    Google Scholar 
                Erkens, G., Bucx, T., Dam, R., de Lange, G. & Lambert, J. Proc. IAHS, 372, 189–198 (2015).Article 
    
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