Heat Islands: The Other Side of the AI Revolution

Inside a giant building in Lowell, Massachusetts, millions of processors work around the clock to fuel the AI revolution, while hot steam rises from the building's cooling units and mixes with the air of the neighboring neighborhood, in a scene that sums up the other side of the digital revolution. How so?

Heat Islands

- In a study conducted by researchers from the University of Cambridge in collaboration with universities and international research centers, published in March, the researchers analyzed satellite images of about 6,000 data centers around the world over 20 years, and discovered a phenomenon known as 'data center heat islands'.

What is the phenomenon?

- The researchers found that data centers raise the average land surface temperature in surrounding areas by about 2 degrees Celsius, while in some areas the increase reached 9.1 degrees Celsius, with the effect extending up to 10 kilometers.

Who is affected?

- The study estimated that more than 340 million people live within the range of heat island effects, which may increase exposure to heat stress, raise demand for cooling and electricity consumption, with potential public health repercussions.

Why does the temperature rise?

- Servers generate huge amounts of heat while processing data, requiring cooling systems and ventilation equipment to run around the clock. During heat waves, electricity consumption rises, and some centers resort to diesel generators, increasing emissions and affecting air quality in surrounding areas.

Are there examples?

- In the Sacred Heart neighborhood of Lowell, Massachusetts, residents complained about noise from the data center's cooling systems. The state classified this neighborhood as among the most vulnerable to environmental and health risks.

Recurring pattern

- The Cambridge study observed a similar pattern in several regions around the world, most notably the Spanish region of Aragon, the Mexican region of Bajio, and the Brazilian states of Ceará and Piauí, all of which recorded unusual temperature increases coinciding with the expansion of data center construction.

Sharing resources

- The issue goes beyond high temperatures, extending to the sharing of electricity and water with residents. Gartner estimates that data center electricity consumption will rise to 565 terawatt-hours in 2026, compared to 447 terawatt-hours in 2025.

Water consumption

- The burden is not limited to electricity. Allianz Trade expects data centers to need between 1.3 and 1.8 trillion liters of water annually by 2030 to cool servers, a volume roughly equivalent to Switzerland's annual water consumption.

What about the carbon footprint?

- Estimates indicate that data centers are responsible for about 3% of the world's carbon footprint, a share close to that of the aviation sector. Morgan Stanley believes these centers are expected to add 2.5 billion metric tons of CO2 emissions by the end of 2030.

How much are the losses?

- According to Allianz, data center emissions reached 286 million tons of CO2 in 2025, with expectations that emissions will double by 2030, potentially causing annual climate damage estimated at $154 billion by the end of the current decade.

The backbone

- Although data centers have become the backbone of the AI revolution, they impose increasing pressures on the climate and natural resources. With accelerating investments in this sector, the challenge will not only be building more centers, but operating them in a way that limits their environmental impact and sustains resources.

Sources: Arqam – Gartner – CNN – Associated Press – France Presse – Reuters – Fortune – Data Center & Network News – International Energy Agency – Study 'The data heat island effect: quantifying the impact of AI data centers in a warming world'

Variety

Artificial Intelligence

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