AI Global Summit ignores massive water toll of data centres, greens red-flag leaders

India accounts for nearly 18% of the world’s population but has only around 4 per cent of global freshwater resources.

Mumbai: Environmental groups have raised serious concerns over the recent Global AI Summit, saying it “grossly neglected” to address the significant water consumption linked to the fast-growing AI infrastructure boom.

Issuing a strong appeal titled “Don’t Let Water Fuel the AI Boom”, environment watchdog NatConnect Foundation, in an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and global leaders, called for India to take the lead in developing sustainable and water-responsible AI infrastructure.

“Artificial Intelligence may be digital, but the infrastructure powering it is intensely physical,” the foundation said in its letter, which was posted on social media platforms and submitted on the PMO Public Grievances portal.

“Large data centres operate round the clock, generate enormous heat and often rely on cooling systems that consume vast quantities of water. This hidden water cost must not be ignored,” NatConnect Director B N Kumar said.

Industry projections indicate that India’s data centre water consumption could rise from roughly 150 billion litres annually to about 358 billion litres by 2030 if expansion continues at the current pace.

This projected surge comes at a time when India is already among the world’s most water-stressed nations, with nearly 600 million people facing high to extreme water stress, according to NITI Aayog, and possessing only around 4 per cent of global freshwater resources despite accounting for 18 per cent of the world’s population.

Quoting open-source data, NatConnect said a large 100-MW AI campus could consume hundreds of millions to billions of litres of water annually, depending on cooling technology and climate conditions.

Industry reporting indicates that a 100-MW hyperscale facility may use around 2 million litres per day — amounting to roughly 700–800 million litres per year. At government urban supply norms of 135 litres per capita per day, that daily consumption could meet the needs of about 3,000 to 3,600 urban households

“In a water-stressed country, these numbers are not abstract,” the letter states.

At the same time, NatConnect emphasised that it is not opposed to AI development. Instead, it called for India to pioneer sustainable AI infrastructure by investing in low-water cooling technologies such as liquid and immersion systems, mandating rainwater harvesting across data centre campuses, prioritising treated wastewater for cooling, and requiring comprehensive hydrological impact assessments before approving large AI projects.

Citing peer-reviewed research published in the journal npj Clean Water (Nature portfolio), NatConnect said scientific assessments confirm that data centres can consume substantial volumes of freshwater — sometimes even potable water — for cooling. As AI workloads increase, so does the need for cooling.

The foundation underscored that India is already the world’s largest extractor of groundwater. According to FAO and World Bank data, nearly 70–80 per cent of India’s freshwater withdrawals support agriculture, and more than 60 per cent of irrigation in many states depends on groundwater.

“This is not anti-technology rhetoric. It is water accounting,” the letter said.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has warned that electricity demand from data centres and AI is expected to grow significantly this decade. Increased computing power inevitably means higher cooling needs. In systems that rely on evaporative cooling, this can translate into greater water consumption.

NatConnect said the summit discussions largely focused on investments, startups and global competitiveness, while environmental trade-offs — particularly basin-level water impacts — received limited attention.

India accounts for nearly 18 per cent of the world’s population but has only around 4 per cent of global freshwater resources. Nearly 600 million Indians face high to extreme water stress, and several states periodically experience drought. Groundwater tables are declining in many regions, even as agriculture remains heavily dependent on irrigation.

“India is a farming civilisation, not merely a digital marketplace,” the foundation said. “If irrigation wells run dry while data centres operate uninterrupted, we must ask what model of development we are pursuing.”

“We urge the Government of India to adopt a ‘Plan Water First’ framework,” the letter said. “India can lead the world not only in AI capability, but in AI responsibility.”

The foundation said balancing digital ambition with water security will be critical to ensuring that technological progress does not come at the cost of agriculture, livelihoods and long-term sustainability.