MarketPR
Seven in ten data centers worldwide operate in locations facing elevated exposure to at least one of five climate hazards — flooding, extreme heat, wildfire, wind, or drought — according to new research from climate risk analytics firm First Street published June 18.
The finding puts a hard number on what infrastructure investors and cloud operators have largely treated as a future problem: the concentration of capacity in markets that are disproportionately exposed to physical climate stress.
Where the Risk Is Hiding First Street's analysis points directly at the industry's structural irony.
The world's largest data center markets — the ones that attracted the most capital and continue to grow fastest — are the same markets carrying the heaviest climate exposure.
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