Yes, they are sinking: but only a little bit
Shanghai is among the world’s most vulnerable urban areas to a rise in sea levels as global warming melts polar ice.
Wang Pingxian, a member of the prestigious China Academy of Sciences and professor of ocean geology at Tongji University in Shanghai said, ‘Shanghai came from the ocean, and has been facing the threat of rising sea levels.’
The dyke along Shanghai’s riverfront Bund, which protects a mile of historic granite buildings from the waters of the Huangpu River, has been raised three times — by nearly 2 meters (about 7 feet) — over the past four decades.
The city sank 1.76 meters between 1921 and 1965, or an average of about 4 centimeters a year.
But while the city moves to stop the ground from being pulled down as ground water is sucked out, researchers now worry that the ground is being pushed down as masses of skyscrapers are plopped down across the urban landscape.
The developer of the 492-meter (1,614-ft) Shanghai World Financial Center, which at its opening in late August surpassed the neighboring Jin Mao Tower as China’s tallest building, said it was not contributing to the land subsidence problem.
‘Our building is not causing land to sink,’ said Michiho Kishi, a spokesman for Mori Building.
So that’s alright then Probably makes you feel a lot better.
Source: Reuters
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