AI to double data centre power and water consumption by 2030, UN researchers say

📌 Summary:

• UN researchers (June 3, 2026) said 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 (AI)
• The UN University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH) warned that, unless governments heed the rising environmental costs of AI, the rapid rollout could also strain scarce land resources and create mountains of electronic waste

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS3 science & technology / environment — the environmental footprint of AI and data centres, and the need for sustainable digital infrastructure.

📝 Prelims Facts:

• Report by the UN University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH)
• Data-centre power and water consumption projected to double by 2030 due to AI

🔑 Key Term: Data centre — a facility housing computing servers; AI workloads sharply raise its energy, water and electronic-waste footprint.