Satellite analysis finds little evidence that data centers cause widespread ground warming
A new study published in Environmental Research Letters has found little evidence that hyperscale data centers cause significant heating of surrounding land. While a previous study suggested data centers heat surrounding land by about 2 °C on average (up to 9 °C), reaching 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) away, 13 years of satellite data reveal that server...
Key Takeaways
- A new study published in Environmental Research Letters has found little evidence that hyperscale data centers cause significant heating of surrounding land.
- While a previous study suggested data centers heat surrounding land by about 2 °C on average (up to 9 °C), reaching 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) away, 13 years of satellite data reveal that server waste heat causes minimal nighttime surface warming, while building materials actually cool ground temperatures during the day.
- Full details and original dispatch available below.
A new study published in Environmental Research Letters has found little evidence that hyperscale data centers cause significant heating of surrounding land. While a previous study suggested data centers heat surrounding land by about 2 °C on average (up to 9 °C), reaching 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) away, 13 years of satellite data reveal that server waste heat causes minimal nighttime surface warming, while building materials actually cool ground temperatures during the day.
Original Publisher Attribution
This summary was curated from Phys.org.