How deleting emails and photos might help the UK fight drought

The UK government is urging residents to conserve water amid a severe drought by taking the unusual step of deleting old digital files such as emails and photos. This recommendation, issued by the National Drought Group, stems from the significant water consumption of data centers, which require large amounts of water primarily for cooling their servers. For example, a 1-megawatt data center can use up to 26 million liters of water annually. The drought, intensified by record heat and prolonged dry weather, has led to formal drought declarations in five UK regions and a 20 percent reduction in water demand in some areas following public appeals. The environmental impact of digital storage is linked to both the direct water use for cooling data centers and the water footprint of electricity generation, especially from fossil fuel and nuclear plants. In response, some tech companies are adopting innovative cooling technologies to reduce water use, such as Microsoft’s underwater data centers, Meta’s membrane-based liquid cooling, Google’s recycled wastewater systems, and Toronto’s lake water