Data Centers in Wrong Climates Risk Efficiency Crisis
A new global analysis reveals a troubling oversight in the tech industry’s infrastructure: the majority of the world’s data centers are built in climates that violate recommended temperature guidelines, forcing them to burn more energy just to stay cool. With rising demand for AI and cloud services, this misalignment could accelerate carbon emissions and strain power grids—especially as global temperatures climb.
The study, based on mapping 8,808 operational data centers worldwide, found that nearly 7,000 facilities operate outside the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) recommended inlet temperature range of 18°C to 27°C. That’s almost 80% of all data centers functioning in suboptimal conditions—many in regions where ambient heat pushes cooling systems to their limits year-round.
Why Temperature Matters for Data Centers
Data centers generate immense heat from servers processing everything from streaming video to generative AI models. To prevent hardware failure, they require consistent, cool airflow. ASHRAE’s guidelines aren’t arbitrary—they’re based on decades of engineering research into balancing performance, longevity, and energy use. When facilities operate above 27°C, cooling demands skyrocket, often requiring energy-intensive mechanical chillers instead of passive or free-air cooling methods.
This inefficiency isn’t just a technical hiccup—it’s a climate liability. Cooling can account for up to 40% of a data center’s total energy consumption. In hot climates, that figure creeps even higher, undermining corporate net-zero pledges and contradicting global efforts to decarbonize digital infrastructure.
Hotspots of Inefficiency: Singapore and Beyond
Nowhere is this mismatch more striking than in Singapore. The city-state hosts over 1.4 gigawatts of data center capacity—a massive footprint for a country with no natural cooling advantage. With average temperatures hovering near 30°C year-round and near-constant humidity, Singaporean facilities rely almost entirely on mechanical cooling, making them among the least energy-efficient in the world.
But Singapore isn’t alone. The study identified roughly 600 data centers globally that endure extreme heat exceeding 27°C for significant portions of the year. Many are clustered in rapidly developing tech hubs like India, the Middle East, and parts of Southeast Asia—regions prioritizing digital growth without fully accounting for environmental trade-offs.
The Hidden Cost of Convenience
Why are so many data centers in the “wrong” climates? The answer lies in business logic, not engineering. Companies often choose locations based on proximity to customers, fiber connectivity, or favorable tax policies—not ambient temperature. Financial centers like London, Singapore, and Mumbai offer dense networks and regulatory stability, making them attractive despite their thermal challenges.
Yet this convenience comes at a hidden cost. As energy prices rise and carbon regulations tighten, inefficient cooling could turn today’s strategic assets into tomorrow’s financial liabilities. Investors and regulators are already starting to scrutinize the environmental performance of digital infrastructure—especially as AI-driven workloads multiply energy demands exponentially.
Cooling Innovation Can’t Keep Pace
While some operators are adopting liquid cooling, AI-driven thermal management, and advanced airflow designs, these innovations only partially offset the penalties of poor siting. Free-air cooling—once hailed as a game-changer—simply doesn’t work in places where outside air is already too hot. In tropical climates, even “indirect” evaporative cooling systems struggle during prolonged heatwaves.
Moreover, retrofitting existing facilities is expensive and often impractical. Many older data centers weren’t designed with future climate scenarios in mind. As global average temperatures rise due to climate change, even temperate zones may eventually breach the 27°C threshold during summer months—turning today’s “safe” locations into tomorrow’s hotspots.
The Nordic Advantage Grows Stronger
Contrast this with the surge of data center development in Nordic countries like Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. These regions offer naturally cool air, abundant renewable energy (especially hydro and geothermal), and stable grid infrastructure. Tech giants including Google, Meta, and Microsoft have expanded heavily there—not just for sustainability, but for long-term operational savings.
In these climates, data centers can use outside air for cooling over 90% of the year, slashing both energy bills and carbon footprints. The result? Lower total cost of ownership and stronger alignment with ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) reporting standards that investors increasingly demand.
A Wake-Up Call for Urban Planners and Tech Leaders
This study isn’t just an indictment of past decisions—it’s a roadmap for the future. As AI and cloud computing continue to scale, the location of new data centers must factor in climate resilience alongside connectivity and latency. Urban planners, policymakers, and tech executives need to collaborate on zoning laws, incentive structures, and infrastructure investments that steer growth toward sustainable regions.
Some governments are already acting. The EU’s Code of Conduct for Data Centre Energy Efficiency encourages “climate-aware siting,” while Singapore temporarily paused new data center construction in 2022 to reassess its sustainability strategy. Such measures may become the norm, not the exception.
Energy Efficiency vs. Digital Demand: A Looming Conflict
The tension between digital expansion and environmental responsibility is intensifying. Global data center electricity use could double by 2026, according to the International Energy Agency—much of it driven by AI. If new facilities continue to be built in thermally hostile zones, that growth will come with disproportionate environmental costs.
Efficiency gains from better chips or smarter software won’t be enough to offset the physics of cooling in extreme heat. The industry must confront a hard truth: where you build matters as much as how you build.
Rethinking the Digital Footprint
This revelation challenges a long-held assumption—that digital infrastructure is inherently “clean” because it’s intangible. In reality, every search, stream, and synthetic image has a physical footprint shaped by geography, climate, and energy policy. The data center boom must evolve from pure scale to intelligent siting.
Consumers and businesses alike should start asking: Where is my data stored—and at what planetary cost? Transparency around location and energy sourcing could soon become as important as uptime or speed.
Climate-Aware Infrastructure Is Non-Negotiable
The study’s findings offer more than a technical critique—they signal a strategic inflection point. As the world races to digitize everything, ignoring climate realities in infrastructure planning is no longer an option. The most resilient, cost-effective, and sustainable data centers of the future won’t just be smart—they’ll be cool, literally and figuratively.
For tech leaders, investors, and policymakers, the message is clear: build smarter, not just faster. Because in the race to power the AI age, the coldest climates might just hold the hottest advantage.
