- Report notes 52% of the top 100 data center hubs are at high or very high risk of climate change
- 100% of APAC and the Middle East hubs would be at high/very high risk in 2040
- Many are also located in areas with high water stress
New research from Maplecroft has confirmed the common suspicion – data centers are closely linked to global warming, with their high energy and demand demand for natural resources while at risk of climate change.
More than half of the world’s top 100 data center hubs are already at high or very high risk of rising temperature, with cooling requirements set to increase significantly, which ultimately leads to higher energy and water consumption.
This comes as a demand for artificial intelligence, cloud computing and data storage continues to grow, showing no signs of slowing down.
Data centers are their own worst climate shutter
With 56%of the high or high risk data centers surveyed today, Maplecroft predicts that two out of three (68%) could be at risk by 2040, and a staggering four out of five (80%) in 2080.
This is more evident in some regions than others, with 100% of the Asia-Stophavet and the Middle East data center, which is expected to be at high or very high risk as soon as 2040, which emphasizes the importance of strategic planning when it comes to the site.
On short and medium -sized terms, Maplecroft believes that shutdowns due to overheating, such as those seen in the UK and the United States in 2022, could become more frequent.
The report also explains how increased water requirements could trigger social and political conflict in certain communities, with more than half (52%) of data center names expected to be in high and very high water strands by 2030.
Regions such as Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the Middle East, Lagos and Johannesburg in Africa, Los Angeles and San Diego in North America and Channa and New Delhi in Asia are considered all high -risk areas.
“Onus is on operators, customers and investors to assess rising climate threats together with social and political risk factors-not only for their own resilience, but due to a growing legislative focus on third-party risk management,” noted sustainable procurement and human rights consultant Capucine May and Risk Insight Senior Asia Analyst Laura Schwartz.
