Did you know parts of South Africa are actually lifting off the ground—by up to 2mm a year?
For years, scientists pointed to deep Earth activity, like mantle flow, to explain this slow but steady rise.
But now, a surprising new suspect is in the spotlight: drought.
According to a fresh study, the real cause might be South Africa’s ongoing water crisis.
“We believe the loss of groundwater and surface water is responsible,” says Makan Karegar, a geodesist from the University of Bonn.
His team studied data from a network of satellite-tracked stations across the country.
The Biggest Jumps In Elevation?
Areas hit hardest by drought, especially during the brutal 2015–2019 stretch when Cape Town nearly hit “Day Zero.”
The science behind it is surprisingly simple: less water = less weight pressing down on the land, so it lifts—just a little.
Satellite data from NASA’s GRACE mission and other models backed this up, showing a clear link between water loss and uplift.
Why does this matter? Because tracking land movement might give us a new, cost-effective way to monitor water scarcity.
In a warming world, that could be a game-changer.
