Artificial intelligence data centres are producing enough warmth to noticeably increase nearby land temperatures, forming so-called data centre heat islands that may be affecting hundreds of millions worldwide. As global demand for AI grows, the number of data centres is set to rise sharply, with experts expecting their capacity to double between 2025 and 2030. A research team, led by Andrea Marinoni at the University of Cambridge, investigated satellite temperature records and the locations of over 8,400 AI data centres to determine their influence, paying particular attention to ones established in sparsely populated areas.
The study found that starting up these AI-focused data centres has led to surface temperatures rising by an average of 2°C, with some areas experiencing jumps as high as 9.1°C. The warming effect spread up to 10 kilometres from the data centre and decreased by just 30 percent even at seven kilometres away, helping explain odd temperature surges observed in places like Mexico’s Bajo region and Spain’s Aragon province over the last twenty years. While some of the rise may come not only from power used for computing but also from heat absorbed by the structures themselves, researchers stress the need for careful planning as technology centres continue to expand.
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