Overview
- Researchers at Arizona State University directly measured air temperatures upwind and downwind of four Phoenix-area data centers and found average downwind warming of about 1.3–1.6°F with local peaks near 4°F detectable up to roughly 500 meters.
- The team mounted fast-response sensors on cars and ran paired routes around the facilities between June and October 2025 to capture real-time air temperature changes rather than relying on satellite surface readings.
- Modern data centers reject concentrated waste heat through air-cooled condenser arrays that blow air 14–25°F hotter than ambient, creating thermal plumes that drift into nearby streets and homes.
- A single facility’s waste heat can exceed the output of tens of thousands of households, and a 169‑megawatt campus can approach the heat from nearly 200,000 homes, which can spur extra air-conditioning use and add even more heat back into neighborhoods.
- With U.S. data center capacity projected to more than double by 2030, the authors plan broader measurements and atmospheric modeling and urge operators and cities to test fixes such as redesigned cooling, landscaped buffers, and permitting rules that cap local heat impacts.