A single Google search requires half a millilitre of water, while ChatGPT consumes 500 millilitres for every five to 50 prompts. Multiply these figures by billions of daily interactions, add streaming services and cloud storage, and the result is staggering: data centre water consumption has reached crisis levels, with some facilities using more water annually than entire cities.
This hidden cost of our digital addiction is now triggering protests from Uruguay to Holland, as communities fight tech giants for access to their most…
