Artificial intelligence is driving a surge in water and electricity demand at data centers worldwide. A new UN report warns that by 2030, AI infrastructure could use as much water as the annual domestic needs of 1.3 billion people. The environmental cost is forcing a debate on transparency and resource management.
By 2030, the world’s artificial intelligence infrastructure could consume enough water to meet the basic needs of 1.3 billion people for a year, according to a new report from the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health. The rapid expansion of AI is fueling a dramatic rise in both water and electricity use at data centers, raising urgent questions about the environmental footprint of the technology behind everyday digital services.
Every AI-generated image, search, or video relies on vast data centers packed with thousands of servers. These machines require constant power and sophisticated cooling systems to prevent overheating. The UN report estimates that data centers supporting AI could draw 945 terawatt-hours of electricity in 2030—more than double the 448 TWh projected for 2025. The associated water footprint could reach 9.3 trillion liters, a volume comparable to the annual domestic water needs of the entire population of sub-Saharan Africa.
Cooling Systems Drive Water Demand
Most data centers use water-based cooling to keep servers at safe temperatures. While this method can reduce energy consumption compared to air cooling—Google claims water cooling can cut a center’s energy use by about 10%—it creates a direct conflict in regions already facing water stress. The Free University of Amsterdam estimates that AI systems could require between 312.5 and 764.6 billion liters of water in 2025 alone, roughly matching the world’s annual bottled water consumption. Yet, major tech companies rarely disclose detailed figures on how much water and energy their AI operations actually consume.
Spain’s Data Center Debate
Spain is already grappling with the resource demands of data centers. Aragón has emerged as a major hub for such facilities, with Amazon Web Services reporting that its local operations used around 68 million liters of water in 2025—about 0.03% of the Ebro river basin’s industrial water demand. As AWS seeks to increase water availability for its Aragón centers by 48%, environmental groups are questioning whether the justification—more hot days ahead—warrants the additional strain. They are calling for stricter oversight of both water and energy impacts.
Transparency and Public Oversight
The UN researchers urge greater transparency, efficiency, and public planning to ensure that the environmental costs of AI do not fall disproportionately on communities with little say over resource use. The future growth of artificial intelligence, they argue, will depend not just on technological advances, but on how societies manage its environmental price tag.
While the focus here is on AI’s water and energy footprint, the broader issue of hidden resource consumption in everyday technology is not new. For example, even household appliances can have overlooked features that impact efficiency, as highlighted in a recent analysis of washing machine design quirks and their effect on laundry results (see this report).
