Mint Explainer | The hidden climate cost of your AI query

AI-focused data centre can consume as much electricity as 100,000 households, while the largest facilities under construction could consume 20 times as much.In 2024, data centres accounted for 1.5% of global electricity consumption, largely concentrated in the US, China and Europe. Global data-centre electricity consumption is expected to more than double to 945 terawatt-hours (TWh) by 2030, equivalent to more than half of India’s electricity consumption in 2023-24 (1,622 TWh).The IEA estimates data centres will account for about half of electricity demand growth in the US between 2025 and 2030.

In Ireland, data centres already consume around a fifth of the metered electricity supply.India’s data-centre capacity has tripled since 2020 and is estimated to reach up to 6.5 gigawatts (GW) by 2030, according to a report by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) published in February. Investments are expected to exceed $100 billion by FY27.For now, the impact remains limited.

In 2025, data centres accounted for just 0.5% of national electricity consumption and used about 150 billion litres of water, roughly a third of the water Pune consumes annually. These figures are projected to double by 2030.As of January 2026, India had 271 data centres.

Mumbai leads the market, hosting about a quarter of them, followed by Chennai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru. To attract investment, several states, including Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu, are offering incentives to lower energy costs.