Every few days an article erupts about how data centers in Europe are drying up the continent. I don’t question this, but as the US and China are said to lead the way in AI and data center infrastructure, how is the situation there? Is there a global comparison?
I only know of a study regarding China (which is known to have severe water problem) from 2024. It says, among others:
Already, before the explosion of AI & chatbots, national exposure across various types of water risks are high:
46% of China’s national data centre racks are located in the Dry 10, which are as dry as the Middle East.
At least 41% of China’s national data centre racks are located in regions that are highly prone to drought while at least 28% are in areas that are highly prone to floods; at least a fifth are very prone to both.
56% of China’s data centre racks are located in coastal regions vulnerable to storm surge & sea level rise.
Water risks can also disrupt power generation and data centres will face double whammy risks especially in hydropower reliant provinces
There are lots of stories of data centers in the US doing exactly the same. They have been posted here on lemmy as well. And more are planned which will do more of the same there.
As for compatible data for statistical analysis. Statista is my usual go-to for American metrics. Closest I could find to this subject seems to be to do with the power side of sustainability, rather than climate focused… But maybe you’ll have better luck than I poking around.
Every few days an article erupts about how data centers in Europe are drying up the continent. I don’t question this, but as the US and China are said to lead the way in AI and data center infrastructure, how is the situation there? Is there a global comparison?
I only know of a study regarding China (which is known to have severe water problem) from 2024. It says, among others:
Here is the source (open pdf)
But this is only China. Maybe someone knows where to get comparable data from around the globe.
Environmental concerns are considered communism in the USA. In China, criticism is suppressed. Hence only Europeans voice the problem.
There are lots of stories of data centers in the US doing exactly the same. They have been posted here on lemmy as well. And more are planned which will do more of the same there.
Yes, I know. But what I mean is a global study comparing the situation across all different continents.
The american solution is to turn a blind eye.
My tiny europoor brain simply cannot comprehend that level of freedom.
Anecdotally, the story that springs to mind for me is the lack of drinkable water near one of metas datacentres..
As for compatible data for statistical analysis. Statista is my usual go-to for American metrics. Closest I could find to this subject seems to be to do with the power side of sustainability, rather than climate focused… But maybe you’ll have better luck than I poking around.
Statista - Data Centre sustainability