AI data centers are making cities warmer. Researchers calculated the exact impact

Researchers measured heat emissions from two Arizona data centers in the Phoenix area, including a 36-megawatt facility in Mesa and a 169-megawatt campus in Chandler. Downwind neighborhoods experienced warmer air temperatures, and the heat influence extended about a third of a mile from the facilities. The concentrated electricity use and resulting heat emissions were identified as drivers of localized warming and heat-island effects. The study reported data centers produce heat of about 14 to 25 degrees, comparable to the heat emitted by tens of thousands of U.S. households. Prior research also linked data centers to larger land-temperature increases and potential global impacts. Environmental concerns include higher energy demand, higher utility bills, water depletion, and pollution.

"Researchers looked at a 36-megawatt faculty in Mesa, and a larger 169-megawatt data center campus in nearby Chandler, and found not only were air temperatures warmers in downwind neighborhoods, but that heat extended a third of a mile out from the data centers."

""They're such a concentrated load of electricity consumption and hence heat emissions that we became concerned about the impact that they could have locally, and also in the downwind neighborhoods.""

""As we do more measurements under different kinds of atmospheric conditions, I think we're going to see more significant impacts around data centers," study author and director of Arizona State University's School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning David Sailor said."

"All that energy is creating so-called heat islands," making already warm American cities like Phoenix unbearably hot. That's because data centers produce heat of about 14 to 25 degrees, according to the study, which for some context, is equal to more than the heat emitted by 40,000 U.S. households."

Read at Fast Company