By Faridat Salifu
Data centres worldwide face mounting physical risks from climate change that could result in billions of dollars in damage and rising operational disruptions, according to a new global report by the Cross Dependency Initiative (XDI).
The report, released on Sunday, analysed nearly 9,000 operational and planned data centres across eight major climate hazards including flooding, wildfires, tropical cyclones, and coastal inundation making it the most comprehensive assessment of physical climate risks to digital infrastructure to date.
It found that critical digital hubs in cities such as New Jersey, Shanghai, Tokyo, and Hamburg could see between 20% and 64% of their data centres classified as high-risk for physical damage by 2050, without urgent mitigation and adaptation measures.
Dr Karl Mallon, XDI founder, warned that data centres, “the silent engine of the global economy,” are increasingly exposed to climate extremes.
He noted that while Sub-Saharan Africa currently faces relatively lower risk, fast-growing digital hubs in Lagos and Nairobi will likely experience steep increases in climate-related damage later in the century.
The report cautioned that insurance costs for data centre operators could triple or quadruple by mid-century, with the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region already seeing 1 in 10 data centres at high risk a number expected to rise.
It called for climate-informed investment in site design, hazard-resilient construction, and strategic location planning to avert large-scale financial losses and service disruptions.
XDI also stressed that climate resilience cannot rely on structural improvements alone, as data centres depend on surrounding infrastructure such as power, water, and transport systems that is equally vulnerable to climate shocks.
The report urges governments, investors, and technology providers to integrate decarbonisation with resilience planning to protect the digital infrastructure underpinning economies and public services.
