Almost half of China's major cities are sinking

The latest research shows that almost half of China's major cities have begun to shrink.
A scientific article published in the journal "Science" on April 18 shows that almost half of China's major cities are facing moderate to severe subsidence, which puts millions of people at risk of flooding when the sea level rises. Within the next century, one-tenth of the population of China's coastal cities will live below sea level.
The author of the article found that 45% of China's urban land is sinking more than three millimeters per year, and 16% of urban areas are sinking faster than 10 millimeters per year. This is not due to groundwater depletion, but to the impact of the construction environment on the subsurface. Cities affected by the construction include major Chinese cities such as Beijing, Fuzhou, Hefei, and Xi'an.
This type of subsidence is defined as the subsidence of the earth's surface relative to sea level, and is often caused by the extraction of groundwater, rock, or other resources.
Chinese researchers say that China's urban population is more than 900 million, so although the number of squatter cities is small, it may pose a serious threat to urban life.
Currently, annual losses in China due to land subsidence exceed 7.5 billion yuan, and coastal cities are at greater risk of being submerged.