Data centers are becoming a bigger part of modern life, powering everything from online searches and cloud storage to artificial intelligence and streaming services.
But new research suggests these facilities may also be quietly heating the neighborhoods around them.
Researchers at Arizona State University found that waste heat from data centers in the Phoenix metropolitan area can raise air temperatures in nearby downwind communities by as much as 4 degrees Fahrenheit.
Phoenix is already the hottest major city in the United States, making the findings especially important for public health and urban planning.
The study focused on large “hyperscale” data centers, which contain huge numbers of computer servers and require enormous amounts of electricity. All that electricity eventually turns into heat.
According to lead researcher Professor David Sailor, the heat produced by a single large data center can exceed the waste heat generated by 40,000 homes combined.
Most modern data centers rely on air-cooling systems. These systems push hot air out of the buildings using large cooling units called condenser arrays. The expelled air can be between 14 and 25 degrees Fahrenheit hotter than the surrounding outdoor air.
Researchers worried that this heated air could create “thermal plumes” that travel through nearby neighborhoods, especially in already hot cities like Phoenix.
To investigate, the research team carried out direct real-world measurements around several data centers in the Phoenix area between June and October 2025.
The scientists attached highly accurate temperature sensors to cars and drove through neighborhoods around four different data centers located in Mesa and Chandler. Multiple cars were used at the same time so researchers could compare temperatures both upwind and downwind from the facilities.
The results showed that neighborhoods located downwind from the data centers were typically 1.3 to 1.6 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than areas upwind. In some cases, temperatures reached as much as 4 degrees higher.
The heating effect could still be detected about one-third of a mile away, roughly equal to five city blocks.
While a few degrees may not sound dramatic, researchers say even small temperature increases can have major impacts in cities already struggling with extreme heat.
For example, slightly warmer air can cause entire neighborhoods to use more air conditioning. Those air conditioners then release even more heat outdoors, creating a cycle that further increases urban temperatures.
Extreme heat is already a serious health threat in Phoenix, especially for older adults, outdoor workers, and people without reliable cooling.
The researchers stress that data centers remain essential to modern society and will likely continue growing rapidly. U.S. data center capacity is expected to more than double by 2030 as demand for cloud computing and artificial intelligence expands.
Rather than criticizing the industry, the research team hopes to help find practical solutions. Possible ideas include redesigning cooling systems, improving facility layouts, using advanced heat modeling, and creating greenbelts or parks around data centers to help absorb heat.
The researchers believe cities may eventually need to include heat reduction measures when approving new data center projects.
The findings were published in the Journal of Engineering for Sustainable Buildings and Cities.
