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AI Alarm: By 2030, it will consume enough water to meet the needs of 1.3 billion people

Politiko 2026-09-02 09:38:16

AI Alarm: By 2030, it will consume enough water to meet the needs of 1.3 billion

As the use of artificial intelligence spreads and the technology increases in scale, it is also consuming an ever-increasing share of the essential resources needed to power and maintain data centers.

The International Energy Agency estimates that asking a question to a chatbot uses 10 times more energy than a Google search. But the growing number of data centers powering artificial intelligence not only consumes vast amounts of electricity, but also water.

The water needs to keep giant servers cool are so great that by 2030 artificial intelligence could use as much water as all of sub-Saharan Africa, competing with the needs of 1.3 billion people, according to a June estimate by the United Nations University (UNU) in Tokyo.

Unless major efficiency improvements are achieved, data centers are also expected to triple their cooling water needs by the same year, according to Rystad Energy, an independent energy research and intelligence company.
Much of the water used in data centers evaporates and cannot be recycled. The researchers attribute this thirst for water to the “massive” increase in data center capacity currently underway and the “increasing prevalence of artificial intelligence in everyday life.”

Meanwhile, artificial intelligence data centers are on track to require almost three times more electricity than Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nigeria combined, say UNU researchers.

To help limit the impact of artificial intelligence on water and energy supplies, environmental experts at UNU recommend that consumers practice using chatbots “for purpose.”

This means solving simple text queries instead of generating unnecessary images or videos with artificial intelligence, using lighter and less resource-intensive models, and using traditional search engines for basic queries.

How much water a data center needs for cooling depends on the technology used, as well as factors such as climate and location, Rystad said, adding that data centers in colder regions need less water.

On the other hand, the impact on water supplies also depends on the location and nature of the local watershed, as well as on agricultural demands in the vicinity.

“Major data center operators, including major technology companies such as AWS, Google, Microsoft and Meta, have committed to using water more sustainably,” Rystad said. However, the impact of these commitments will vary depending on location and the level of water stress in a region, the researchers said./DPA News