AI to double data centre power and water consumption by 2030, UN researchers say
The report says AI prompts, images and video are driving fast-rising demand, while companies disclose little about energy, water and land use.
- On Wednesday, the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health published a report warning that data centers consumed 448 terawatt-hours of electricity in 2025, rivaling national energy totals.
- Rapid growth in operational AI requests, which account for about 90% of power usage, drives this expansion; electricity consumption is projected to reach 945 terawatt-hours by 2030, nearly 3% of global demand.
- Beyond electricity, AI infrastructure consumed 9.3 trillion liters of water in 2025 and could require over 14,000 square kilometers of land by 2030, while generating up to 2.5 million tonnes of annual e-waste.
- Reducing unnecessary words in prompts can lower energy consumption by up to 25%, prompting researchers to call for mandatory environmental disclosures from AI firms to manage these hidden costs.
- Lead investigator Kaveh Madani stated the findings are "probably just the tip of the iceberg," while emphasizing the study is "not an anti-AI report" but seeks proactive monitoring to curb environmental impacts.
48 Articles
48 Articles
AI to double data centre power and water consumption by 2030, UN researchers say
Data centres are expected to consume twice as much power and water by 2030 as they expand to meet the surge in demand from artificial intelligence, U.N. researchers said on Wednesday.
A report by the United Nations Institute for Water, Environment and Health identifies the multiple effects of the power consumption of climate data centres, freshwater availability and ground grip. Experts are concerned about the surge in the AI market, which could increase between 2023 and 2033As giants of artificial intelligence are preparing to enter the stock exchange in search of capital to finance their exponential growth investments, the …
Data centres would consume twice as much energy and water by 2030 as they expand to meet the increased demand from Artificial Intelligence, according to UN researchers. Unless governments pay attention to the growing environmental costs of AI, their rapid deployment could also test scarce land resources and generate mountains of electronic waste, the United Nations University Institute of Water, Environment and Health warned in a report. In 2025…
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