00:00Welcome back to Global Business Europe.
00:02We all take water for granted, but perhaps we should start worrying about supplies running short.
00:08World Water Week has been marked in Stockholm.
00:11The United Nations special envoy on water is urging world leaders to put water at the forefront of climate strategies.
00:18Environmental experts have been warning of water shortages for years.
00:22But the rise of artificial intelligence is per new risks.
00:25Data centres use billions of litres each year.
00:28Our correspondent Michael Morelia has more on the story.
00:31Jamie, thank you very much.
00:33Artificial intelligence is a thirsty technology.
00:37Every time we ask a question of a chatbot, for example, we're using water.
00:42That's because AI runs on high-tech data centres.
00:46These centres use water in their cooling systems, but they also need electricity.
00:51And the production of electricity requires water.
00:54One study estimates data centres around the world consume 560 billion litres, and that's in a single year.
01:02Let that sink in.
01:04560 followed by nine zeros.
01:08And demand is set to rocket.
01:10Experts say in five years, water usage at data centres could be more than double what it is now.
01:16But what does that really mean for you and me?
01:19Well, let's take a look at a hyperscale centre, one of the biggest you find.
01:24It uses as much power as a small town, and at its peak, it consumes the same amount of water as 80,000 people.
01:33And that's a problem because the world's fresh water supplies are under pressure.
01:36And unless we take urgent action, demand will soon exceed supply.
01:41In fact, we could face a 40% shortfall in 2030.
01:45Taps won't necessarily run dry, but prices could climb, and water conservation will be crucial.
01:52Now, AI could have huge benefits for the global economy.
01:56Some estimates suggest it will eventually add $700 billion per year,
02:01mostly through improvements in productivity and new opportunities.
02:04But the cost of a water crisis is also pretty hefty.
02:08Experts say by 2050, it could reduce the size of some economies by 8%.
02:15Meanwhile, as data centres continue to mushroom, we will need more and more water.
02:20So this is not just an environmental problem, it's also a technological one.
02:25Because without water, there is no AI.
02:28Robin, Jamie?
02:29Thank you very much.
02:30Michael Morillier.
02:31Let's talk now to Dr. Mohamed Wakil Shahzad,
02:35an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical and Construction Engineering
02:38at Northumbria University.
02:40Welcome to the program, Dr. Shahzad.
02:42So we heard lots of figures there about water cooling data centres down.
02:47Do we know exactly how much is really being used, though?
02:52Thank you very much for having me.
02:54And as rightly mentioned earlier, Kuli, that is a billion litre of water consumed every year.
03:01So just to give you another number, for example, a medium data centre around one megawatt power,
03:08it consumes around 25 million litres of water annually.
03:12And of course, AI is actually intensifying the water use more than 50%.
03:18So as far as the indications, that by using the AI, the water can even more consume even more,
03:27more than two-fold in the near future.
03:30And we all know that all the AI processes or the AI model also need the training.
03:35And this is another water consumption during the training process.
03:40And all they are intensifying the water utilisation in the data centres.
03:43So I would like to mention that, in fact, the AI is designed to solve the problem,
03:50but it is actually increasing the new sustainability issues that we are facing currently,
03:56and it is increasing in the near future as well.
03:58So as AI, sorry to jump in, as AI takes off, can we meet that demand,
04:04especially given that global water supplies are coming under pressure because of climate change?
04:08No, definitely, it needs alternative water resources because the current water resources are not enough
04:18to meet the demand for the global data centre utilisation, considering the AI water demand.
04:25So are there...
04:26And of course...
04:27Sorry, go ahead.
04:30So unlike the other industries, like the process industries,
04:33where the water can be used and recovered back,
04:36but in data centres, water, literally, it disappears in the form of the vapours.
04:42So we need alternative water resources to fulfil the water demand in the data centres.
04:48So what might that look like?
04:49Fresh water being used mostly currently.
04:51Are there alternative sources that we should be looking at?
04:56Yeah, there are alternative resources.
04:59For example, the seawater desalination and water reuse from the wastewater from industry.
05:05In fact, since 2022, two-thirds of the data centres are built in the region where the water is not available
05:15in the form of the nature of water resources.
05:18For example, in Arizona, in the Middle East, and South Asia.
05:22So in those areas, mostly the data centres, they rely on water treatment process.
05:28For example, the seawater through desalination process
05:30and the industrial wastewater through wastewater technologies.
05:33Dr. Shahzad, thank you so much for coming on the programme.
05:37That's Dr. Mohamed Wakil Shahzad from Northumbria University.
05:40Well, let's...
