Data Centers in the Heat: Rising Challenges & Cooling Innovations
Key Takeaway
High temperatures pose a significant risk to the global data center landscape, impacting energy consumption, operating costs, and efficiency—particularly in the 21 countries where all data centers sit in zones above 27 °C.
Summary
- Global distribution: By October 2025, ~8,808 active data centers worldwide; 600 in regions with average temperatures > 27 °C.
- 21 affected countries: In countries such as Singapore, Thailand, Nigeria, UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Malaysia, all data centers are in excessively hot areas; almost half of Indonesia’s 170 data centers and about 30 % of India’s 213 are also in overheating zones.
- Ideal temperature: ASHRAE recommends 18–27 °C for optimal server performance.
- Energy consumption: In 2024, global data center electricity use was 415 TWh (~1.5 % of global consumption). By 2030, a rise to > 830 TWh is expected, driven by the USA and China.
- Growth market: Asia and the Middle East are the fastest‑growing regions; Asia dominates with India, Vietnam, and the Philippines.
- Cooling challenges: High temperatures increase cooling system costs, strain power grids, reduce transmission efficiency, and raise outage risks.
- Cooling technologies: Air‑cooled remains standard, increasingly complemented by liquid‑based (liquid‑cooling, immersion cooling) and hybrid (air + evaporation) solutions. Direct chip cooling and immersion cooling can save up to 40 % energy and water. Pilot projects for sea‑water cooling or underground facilities are planned. In Singapore, projects aim to lower energy and water use; the government mandates reductions.
- Policy & regulation: Singapore has enacted binding rules for energy and water reduction in data centers. Many countries are pursuing similar measures.
- Infrastructure issues: In Africa and the Middle East, heat is compounded by weak power grids and lacking infrastructure.
- Future outlook: Liquid cooling and hybrid systems are expected to become standard in the next 5–10 years; in very hot regions, large sea‑water cooling may become mainstream.
Related queries
- How many data centers are in overheated climates? - Which cooling systems are most efficient in hot regions? - What percentage of global electricity consumption is attributed to data centers in 2024?