Earth’s temperature is rising due to AI data centers:Temperature rises up to 2°C in surrounding areas, affecting 34 crore people; study reveals

The growing demand for Artificial Intelligence (AI) is now also increasing temperatures in the world. A new research from Cambridge University has revealed that AI data centers being built worldwide are increasing the temperature of the surrounding land. According to the study, where these data centers are operating, the temperature has increased by an average of 2°C. Scientists have named this the ‘Data Heat Island Effect’. Heat is being felt within 10 kilometers radius of data centers Researchers analyzed satellite data from the past two decades. It was found that as soon as an AI data center becomes operational in an area, there is a sudden increase in temperature there. Average increase: Temperature near data centers has increased by an average of 2.07°C. Maximum temperature: At some locations, temperatures of up to 9.1°C were recorded. Impact Range: The heat effect is not limited just to the data center boundary. A 1°C increase was observed up to 4.5 kilometers away from the center, while its effect spreads up to a 10 kilometer radius. Until now, the urban heat island concept was popular, where due to concrete jungles and growing population, city temperatures remain 4-6 degrees higher compared to villages. Now AI infrastructure has also joined this league. AI services require large amounts of electricity and computing power, whose emitted heat is directly affecting the local environment. Impact on health and energy bills of 3.4 billion people According to the study, around 3.44 billion people worldwide live in areas that are affected by the heat from these data centers. Notably, even though many data centers are built far from cities, their impact is still significant. Scientists have warned that this will not only affect people’s health but will also increase electricity consumption and costs for keeping homes cool. Study conducted in Spain, Mexico and Brazil Researchers used case studies from Aragon in Spain, Bajio in Mexico, and northeastern regions of Brazil. In these places where clusters of data centers are located. Abnormal temperature increases have been observed in these areas. Scientists say that as AI work increases, heat generation and carbon emissions have also rapidly increased. Heavy electricity consumption and fossil fuel are major challenges