April 1, 2026, 12:16 pm | Read time: 3 minutes
In the digital age, more computing power is needed. Especially with the rise of artificial intelligence, the demand for energy is rapidly increasing. As a result, more AI data centers are being established to manage the growing spread and numerous requests in various applications such as ChatGPT. This consumes many resources like electricity and water–and according to a new study, it also has another effect on the environment.
AI Data Centers Heat Up Surroundings
Researchers at the University of Cambridge have found in a new study that AI data centers, due to their high energy use, significantly increase the temperature of their surroundings by several degrees. As reported by “Forschung und Wissen,” this leads to heat islands, affecting about 340 million people worldwide.
For the study, the research team used satellite data on surface temperatures from the past 20 years. They correlated this with the locations of more than 8,400 AI data centers. The focus was on centers built in sparsely populated areas to exclude other factors influencing temperature as much as possible.
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How Much Warmer It Can Get
In their research, the scientists found that shortly after the establishment of an AI data center, the temperature increases by an average of two degrees Celsius. The highest recorded increase was 9.1 degrees Celsius. This effect can be observed within a radius of up to ten kilometers.
The temperature increase does not decrease as expected with distance. Even seven kilometers away, the heat intensity would still be 70 percent. Many people worldwide are affected by the warming. And due to the ongoing boom and further expansion of AI data centers, the number of affected individuals could continue to rise.
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Opportunities of AI Data Centers
Expert Oliver Fronk also confirms the fundamental issue upon inquiry. Fronk works for the company Prior1, which plans and builds data centers. It is true that data centers emit a lot of heat and can cause these problems. However, the resulting heat is not solely an AI problem but affects data centers in general. Fronk also sees the potential to reuse the waste heat.
Data centers are therefore not just heat producers but also potential energy sources. The real problem is not the heat generated, but that it often goes unused. Uncontrolled heat release can be a burden, according to Fronk. However, a sensible use, such as for buildings or entire neighborhoods, would be an added value.
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“Important Component of the Energy Transition”
Thanks to the German Energy Efficiency Act and similar regulations at the EU level, the use of waste heat will become mandatory. This also applies to AI data centers. New technologies could help make them more efficient to cool and better utilize the existing heat.
It is important to think of power supply, computing power, and heat utilization uniformly in the future to avoid negative consequences. Fronk believes that data centers could even contribute to the energy transition.