India Builds Data Centres Straining Water Resources
India’s rapid build-out of hyperscale and colocation data centres is driving heavy water and electricity demand, with capacity forecast to multiply several-fold this decade. Analysts warn these facilities could withdraw hundreds of billions of litres of water annually and lock regions like Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and the NCR into carbon-intensive power without stronger cooling technologies, wastewater use, and regulatory safeguards.
Key Points
- 1Data shows hyperscale data-centre capacity may multiply several-fold this decade.
- 2High-density AI workloads generate intense heat, driving heavy water use for evaporative cooling.
- 3Mandate water-disclosure, low-water cooling, and wastewater sources when approving and siting new facilities.
Scoring Rationale
Highlights urgent, industry-wide environmental risks and concrete mitigation options; limited by reliance on secondary reports rather than new empirical data.
Sources
Public references used for this report.
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