Meta · The Guardian Technology
Majority of US’s new AI datacenters to be assembled on drought-hit land
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A record-shattering drought has racked much of the US.
Key facts
- Overall, the multiplying datacenters across the US are set to demand as much as 73bn gallons of water a year by 2028, up from about 17bn gallons in 2023
- Worldwide, three-quarters of people could face drought impacts by 2050 all while datacenters use 9.3tn liters of water in the coming decade, enough to meet the drinking water needs of the planet’s
- Of 809 planned datacenters, 517 are in locations that have been in drought conditions throughout the past year, according to data from Cleanview and the federal government, which grades drought
- A January study found that datacenters will be responsible for 4% of the 30tn gallons of extra water that will be needed, globally, for AI expansion by the mid-point of this century
Summary
About two-thirds of upcoming datacenters, which typically require a large amount of water to operate, are set to be built in places that have been among the driest in the country over the past year. Of 809 planned datacenters, 517 are in locations that have been in drought conditions throughout the past year, according to data from Cleanview and the federal government, which grades drought across four levels of severity. More than 60% of the contiguous US is currently at varying stages of drought, the largest expanse for spring in modern records, with a particularly severe lack of rain and snow in the south-east and west desiccating croplands and raising fears of a disastrous wildfire season. Scientists have determined that the climate crisis, caused by the burning of fossil fuels, is worsening the duration and intensity of droughts in the US. But a stampede of new datacenters are adding extra demands via their hefty energy and water requirements.