The Effects of Climate Change on Data Centers

Although we are accustomed to clearly distinguished concepts such as "online," "offline," "virtual," and "real" in our daily lives, our digital existence is tied to the foundations of the physical world. However, as the challenges of climate change grow, we are gradually aware that the issues faced by the physical world are seeping into the digital domain, adversely affecting our digital lives. Among them, the impact of climate on data centers is becoming increasingly pronounced on a global scale.

• Raising Temperature

Data centers require efficient cooling to maintain optimal operating temperatures for the equipment. In more extreme situations, when trying harder to cool the data center doesn't bring down the temperature, it might be necessary to shut down or reduce the traffic flow of some data centers. This can affect the performance and overall efficiency of the data center.

Higher ambient temperatures can strain cooling systems and lead to equipment overheating, potentially causing failures and downtime.

In the summer of 2022, both the UK and the United States experienced the closure of numerous data centers due to extreme heat. In July, a heatwave in the UK led to the shutdown of Google and Oracle data centers. In September, Twitter's data center in California faced a major power outage due to high temperatures. The global rise in temperatures and unpredictable weather fluctuations have made maintaining data centers a challenging task.

• Water Scarcity

Data centers, which require water to cool servers, also create a lot of water loss. Research shows that data centers use up to 5 million gallons of water per day. Many data center operators have been drawn to water-scarce regions in the West, in part because of the availability of solar and wind power.

Lake Oroville has almost dried up due to a severe drought triggered by climate change. Virginia Tech researchers estimate that one in five data centers draws water from moderate to highly stressed watersheds, mostly in the western United States. With groundwater supplies dwindling and weather changing, many communities are pushing back against the development of more data centers.

• Extreme Weather

The main types of extreme weather include heat waves, cold waves and heavy precipitation or storm events, such as tropical cyclones. These events can disrupt power supply, damage infrastructure, and lead to downtime. As sea levels rise and extreme weather events become more common, data centers built in flood-prone areas face a greater risk of disruptions.

• Energy Consumption and Carbon Emissions

Data centers are large electricity hogs. The energy-intensive nature of data centers contributes to carbon emissions. Due to the continuous operation of hardware such as servers, storage devices, and network equipment, data centers require a significant amount of power to maintain their daily functions. This is not only due to the large quantity of equipment but also because they need to operate continuously to ensure the immediate availability of data. This massive demand for electricity makes data centers significant energy consumers and challenges to the power grid.

In the United States, data centers consume 200 terawatt-hours (TWh) annually and contribute 0.3% of CO2 emissions to the atmosphere.

Facing the various impacts of climate change on data centers, we must recognize that it has become a significant challenge. Rising temperatures exacerbate cooling issues, water scarcity poses a direct threat to cooling and energy production, and extreme weather events may lead to the closure of data centers. At the same time, the immense energy consumption and carbon emissions make it imperative for data centers to actively address climate change. The sustainable development of the data center industry will be a crucial focus in the future, and our efforts will have a profound impact on the sustainability of the digital world and overall environmental health.

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