Environmental Impact of AI Infrastructure Growth (2015-2024)
3
Meta, Google, Microsoft
2015-2024
10 Years
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Billion Liters (2024)
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2020-2024
Tracking the correlation between AI advancement and datacenter water consumption
Energy usage trends reflecting computational demand growth
Liters of water used per kilowatt-hour of IT energy
Water consumption accelerated significantly from 2020 onwards, coinciding with the rapid expansion of AI training infrastructure and large language models.
Google leads in absolute water usage (29.5B liters in 2024), followed by Microsoft (10.3B) and Meta (4.1B). Growth rates correlate directly with AI infrastructure expansion.
As AI capabilities expand, both companies face increasing challenges in managing water resources sustainably, particularly in water-stressed regions.
Google only began reporting datacenter-specific water usage separately from offices in 2024, highlighting evolving environmental reporting standards.