GPT · The Register
AI datacenters create heat islands around them, paper catches
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Datacenters create heat islands that raise surrounding temperatures by several degrees at distances up to 10 km (over 6 miles), which could have an impact on surrounding communities.
Key facts
- Their paper, which has yet to be peer-reviewed, claims that land surface temperatures surrounding datacenters were higher by between 0.3°C and 9.1°C (0.54°F and 16.38°F) after each facility started
- This effect can still be measured up to 10 km away, although the intensity is reduced by 30 percent at about 7 km (over 4 miles) away
- Datacenters create heat islands that raise surrounding temperatures by several degrees at distances up to 10 km (over 6 miles), which could have an impact on surrounding communities
- One upshot is that global electricity use by massive server farms is set to more than double by 2030, with AI named as the biggest driver
Summary
The findings come from a team at the University of Cambridge, which examined the heat dissipation of large server farms, given the proliferation of these sites due to the current AI mania. Their paper, which has yet to be peer-reviewed, claims that land surface temperatures surrounding datacenters were higher by between 0.3°C and 9.1°C (0.54°F and 16.38°F) after each facility started operations, with the average increase between 1.5°C and 2.4°C (2.7°F and 4.3°F). This effect can still be measured up to 10 km away, although the intensity is reduced by 30 percent at about 7 km (over 4 miles) away.