Rising global temperatures pose an increasing risk to the resilience of well over half of the world's top 100 data centre hubs, according to a new research by the risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft.
The new report released in July 2025 says the growing cooling requirements will increase water and electricity demand, exposing data centres to rising costs, potential conflict with local communities over resources and power outages where energy infrastructure is less resilient to climate change.
The report said the data centres are built with resilience measures, such as backup generators, at the forefront of their design and water and energy efficiencies are improving. Yet the analysis suggests that the pressures of climate change could test this increasingly essential infrastructure as temperatures spike and demand for AI, data storage and cloud computing surges.
Verisk Maplecroft senior Asia analyst Laura Schwartz said, “Data centres now form the digital backbone of business. The third-party operators of these facilities represent a critical link in global supply chains, as their services underpin the operations of all multinational organisations. In an always-on, globally integrated economy, understanding the entire range of risks that can impact their resilience is a board-level imperative that needs mapping out today and into the future.”
Heatwaves already constitute a major risk to data centres. During extreme temperature spikes, operators can be forced to shut down servers to prevent damage from overheating, leading to service disruptions. In 2022, the summer heatwaves in the UK and the US caused several data centres to go offline, disrupting businesses reliant on cloud-based servers.
The study reveals that around three-quarters of the world’s data centre hubs will have to meet significant and increasing cooling demands for longer periods each year, resulting in higher water and energy usage and costs. The top 100 data centre hubs will on average see an 83% increase in cooling degree days from 2030 to 2080.
Verisk Maplecroft consultant Capucine May said, “The onus is on operators, customers and investors alike to assess rising climate threats, alongside social and political risk factors – not only for their own resilience, but because of a growing regulatory focus on third-party risk management.”