As artificial intelligence rapidly advances, data centres have emerged as significant consumers of water, utilising millions of litres daily for cooling purposes.

This surge in demand is raising alarms about the potential strain on already limited water resources.

Each AI chatbot response is estimated to consume approximately 500 mililiters of clean drinking water.

While this may seem minimal, the figure becomes alarming when considering the billions of queries processed globally each day.

Research indicates that a single data centre can use at least 200 million liters of water daily, amounting to around nine billion liters per month. Annually, this totals over 100 billion liters, enough to supply drinking water to millions in a large city for several months.

Data centres house thousands of powerful servers that generate significant heat, necessitating water based cooling systems to prevent overheating and maintain operational efficiency.

Many of the largest AI data hubs are located in countries like the United States, China, Ireland, Spain, Singapore, and the Neitherlands, which are already facing water scarcity crises, raising sustainability concerns.

Experts warn that the increasing water demand from these facilities could directly impact agriculture and drinking water supplies.

As global temperatures rise and populations expand, diverting vast amounts of clean water to data centres could exacerbate in vulnerable areas.

Environmentalists are calling for urgent international regulations to curb unchecked water usage by the tech industry. They argue that without global action, communities may face severe crises in access to safe drinking water.

Campaigners advocate for the introduction of international laws to prevent water wastage linked to AI technologies, warning that without regulation, the pursuit of technological advancement could jeopardise human survival.