Big data centers that power artificial intelligence use a lot of energy but they also have another scary impact, according to new research. They create “heat islands,” warming the land around them by 16 degrees Fahrenheit, and making life hot for more than 340 million people.
There are still big gaps in our understanding of the effects of data centers, even though they are increasing in number, said Andrea Marinoni, associate professor of the Earth Observation group at Cambridge University, and author of the study, which has been peer-reviewed.
Marino and his colleagues decided to dig into one unexplored influence: the heat they release with their energy systems, including computing and powering cooling systems.
To do this, they looked at temperature data from the last 20 years from remote sensors and mapped them against AI “hyperscaler” sites – large data centers that house thousands of servers and can stretch to a million square feet, most of which were built in the last decade.
They focused on more than 6,000 data centers located far from dense urban areas, as the temperatures around these could not be affected by other factors, such as production or home heating. Researchers also filter out the effects of seasons, global warming trends and other influences.
They found surface temperatures increased by an average of 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit after the data center became operational. In extreme conditions, the nearby temperature rises by 16.4 degrees Fahrenheit.
The increase was similar across the globe, the researchers found. In Mexico’s Bajio region, for example, which has become a data center, the study found that unexplained temperature rises of 3.6 degrees over the past 20 years. A similar situation was seen in Aragon, Spain, the European center for hyperscale AI data centers, which reported a temperature increase of 3.6 degrees that was not repeated in neighboring provinces.
Surprisingly, the effects were not limited to the immediate environment of the data center; The increase in temperature in affected areas is up to 6.2 km, the study found, affecting more than 340 million people.
The findings are particularly alarming, scientists say, because AI data centers are set to increase in the next few years, and this temperature rise comes as planet-warming pollution is already causing heat waves to spread across the globe.
The proposed concentration of data centers “could have significant societal impacts” in terms of the environment, human well-being and the economy, Marinoni said.
Deborah Andrews, distinguished professor of process and circuit design at London South Bank University, who was not involved in the research, said there was a lot of concern about the effects of data centers but this was the first paper she had seen that focused on the heat they generate.
“The ‘AI-gold rush’ seems to be going beyond conventional wisdom and logic,” he said, “and it’s moving faster than any of the broader, more sustainable trends.”
Some experts say more research is needed to confirm the results. The study provides “some interesting numbers” but the reported results “seem to be too high,” said Ralph Hintemann, senior researcher at the Borderstep Center for Innovation and Sustainability. “Regarding climate change, emissions from power generation for data centers are still the biggest threat,” he added.
Marinoni wants the research to spark more discussion about how to mitigate the effects of AI. “There may still be time to consider the possibility of a different path … without affecting the need for AI and its ability to provide progress for the human race,” he added.
#Data #centers #create #heat #islands #heat #land #degrees #CNN