Nepal’s powerful earthquake has pulled its capital Kathmandu down by more than a metre, analysis of satellite data shows.

Researchers say the lower than expected ground movement means more aftershocks could follow, and there’s no telling how powerful they will be.

The area around Kathmandu registered 1.37 metres of ground displacement, or the amount of movement the earth felt after the 7.8 magnitude earthquake on April 25, the ABC reported.

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University of New South Wales Engineering Associate Professor Linlin Ge told the ABC displacement should be “roughly several metres”, comparing the data to other large quakes.

“There are a lot of concerns about what is to come in terms of aftershocks, because the ground displacement is much less than we expected.

“Our suspicions are that the stress has not been fully released at this stage.”

“Normally we expect a lot of aftershocks along the plate boundary, but in this case, there are none,” he said.

Associate Professor Ge used data from two satellites to compare changes in terrain.