- Nearly 7,000 data centers operate outside the effective range of 18 to 27 degrees Celsius.
- Around 600 facilities face extreme heat exceeding 27°C per year worldwide
- Singapore hosts over 1.4 gigawatts of data centers despite intense heat conditions
The majority of the world’s data center capacity is located in climates that impose ongoing cooling and energy efficiency penalties.
According to ASHRAE industry guidelines, optimal inlet air temperatures for data centers range from 18°C to 27°C.
Yet a mapping analysis of global data centers shows that nearly 7,000 of 8,808 operational facilities operate outside this range.
Climate imbalance is now the global norm
Around 600 facilities are located in areas where average annual temperatures exceed 27°C, while many others operate in colder regions below 18°C.
Singapore, for example, experiences temperatures around 33°C, with humidity often above 80%.
Still, the country is home to more than 1.4 gigawatts of operational capacity, and authorities have approved several hundred more megawatts under stricter efficiency controls.
Higher ambient temperatures increase cooling demand and reduce electricity transmission efficiency, putting additional pressure on local power grids.
Data centers accounted for about 7% of national electricity consumption in 2020, with projections pointing to a sharp increase if capacity expansion continues at the current pace.
Demand for cloud hosting has also accelerated construction in regions already facing sustained heat.
According to international energy estimates, data centers consumed around 415 terawatt hours of electricity in 2024, or around 1.5% of global demand.
This figure is expected to more than double by 2030 as higher density systems proliferate.
Server location decisions are typically driven by electricity availability, electricity price, water access, land costs, and regulatory incentives.
These considerations often trump temperature suitability when operators evaluate new projects.
Air cooling remains the dominant approach globally, accounting for just over half of deployed data center cooling systems.
Liquid cooling is gaining ground, particularly for high-density racks consuming well above 100 kilowatts, but retrofitting existing installations remains capital-intensive.
Many of the fastest-growing data center markets also face limited electricity and water resources, limiting the effectiveness of mitigation strategies.
Risk assessments indicate that by 2040, extreme heat could affect around two-thirds of the world’s major data centers.
In several countries, including Singapore, Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates, every operational facility is already located in areas above the 27°C threshold.
Taken together, the data suggest that current expansion models prioritize short-term demand and regulatory compliance over long-term environmental efficiency.
Some reports indicate that AI is in bubble territory, with figures such as Michael Burry and Pat Gelsinger warning against overvaluation and speculative hype.
The rapid expansion of AI workloads is driving unprecedented data center growth, significantly increasing energy demand and operational costs.
This increase in energy consumption illustrates a clear economic consequence of the AI bubble, linking inflated expectations to real pressure on infrastructure.
Via Tom’s material
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