Like many U.S. cities, Chicago is sinking — one of the impacts of a warming planet.

Land subsidence is the phenomenon where the Earth’s surface sinks mainly due to humans extracting water from the ground, among other causes. Estimates predict Chicago sinks between 2 and 3 millimeters every year.

According to DePaul environmental studies professor James Montgomery, when water is extracted from underground through evaporation or human collection, there is less material holding up the ground, and the surface sinks. This can cause buildings to sink into the clay under Chicago if they are not supported by the bedrock layer below. 

“Cities generate a lot of heat,” Montgomery said. “Some of that heat gets dissipated into the atmosphere, but a lot of it gets dissipated underground.”

Researchers at Northwestern University looked at subsurface temperature by putting probes in parking lots throughout the city in 2023. They were able to connect climate change to the sinking city and identify possible threats to underground civil structures, such as tunnels, train systems, parking garages and other infrastructure impacting water distribution and disposal.

Zayn Ibrahim is the sustainability coordinator at Just DePaul, the sustainability initiative of the university’s College of Science & Health. Ibrahim expressed concern over communities that could be impacted by climate change. 

“Land subsidence could potentially affect our water distribution infrastructure and community members living in neighborhoods that have historically been disenfranchised,” Ibrahim said.

But land subsidence is not the only issue Chicago faces. Over time, the city’s weather patterns are also changing. According to Montgomery, Chicago will experience higher intensity storms more frequently.

“We’re going to have to be vigilant,” Montgomery said. 

More intense storms may impact lakefront conditions and lead to more soil erosion in certain places. In the past, the city has also had to adapt to soil erosion into the lake by installing rivulets and constructing many of the parks and trails along the lakefront, even using some debris from the Great Chicago Fire.

Currently, Illinois has not reached its goal to make 40% of the state’s energy clean by 2030.

Chicago has made a series of climate action plans in recent years. Their primary plan from 2008 had the overarching goal of reducing Chicago’s greenhouse gas emissions to 80% below 1990 levels by 2050.

An updated plan in 2022 set the new goal of reducing the city’s carbon emissions by 62% by 2040. In January 2025, Chicago announced that all city buildings, including the O’Hare and Midway airports, were powered entirely by renewable energy.

But some feel like this is not enough. Hannah Jaglinski, a chemistry major at DePaul, is worried about the potential impacts of flooding caused by more intense storms on underground infrastructure in Chicago.

“We rely on this massive system of tunnels under Chicago to divert rainwater during flooding events,” Jaglinski said. “These tunnels have already been overwhelmed multiple times, resulting in the discharge of wastewater into the river, polluting its waters.”

Just DePaul, a department run in the Division of Mission and Ministry, is creating a climate action plan and holding town halls that allow students to share their perspective throughout the quarter. According to a statement DePaul officials gave The DePaulia in 2024, the university’s climate footprint has not increased since 2002. DePaul also self-reported that they expect to offset 55% of their anticipated electricity consumption through 2026.

Ana Rinella, a senior political science major, is happy that DePaul doesn’t ignore climate change altogether, but thinks their efforts are the bare minimum.

“It is a good thing that DePaul is facing these issues head on, but the action that comes with that is what I do think is lacking,” Rinella said.

Rinella wants to see more efforts to reduce the amounts of plastic the university gives out as part of its admissions and merchandise programs.

Rinella is also concerned about the impacts climate change will have on global living conditions for future generations.

“We are going to have to live with this, and it is upsetting to me that often the older generations are the first to dismiss this,” Rinella said. 

Even if climate change has only slightly altered life in Chicago so far, consistently higher than normal or increasing temperatures could leave the city on shifting ground for years to come.

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