Several cities on the east coast of the USA are sinking. Experts warn that there are a number of factors causing this situation, including climate change, reports The Guardian.
Between 2007 and 2020, New York, Baltimore, and Norfolk, Virginia sank by about 2 mm per year, other places sank at double or triple the rate, and Charleston, South Carolina sank the fastest, by 4 mm per year.
Some of this surging has resulted from pumping groundwater for water supplies or natural gas, but New York and other cities are sinking under the weight of their buildings.
It's a complex situation, with a number of factors at play. After the great ice sheets melted at the end of the Ice Age, the land gradually tilted, with northern areas that were under ice rising, while southern areas that were ice-free sloped. If land sinks and sea levels rise as a result of climate change, the risk of flooding on the US East Coast is increased.
Buildings, roads, railways, farmland and more are under threat, with the risk of seawater seeping into water supplies and turning forests into 'ghost forests', with coastal wetlands particularly vulnerable to erosion, crucial to protecting many cities from storm surges during hurricanes.
