The data centers of the American technology giant Google consumed water equivalent to one-third of Turkey’s annual consumption of 63 billion cubic meters in 2024. The company uses 21 billion cubic meters of water to maintain the performance of overheating computer servers in data centers. The impact of artificial intelligence on the company’s water consumption is significant. In 2022, a year marked by significant advancements in artificial intelligence, the company consumed 21 billion liters of water, an increase of 20% compared to 2021, and again consumed 21 billion liters of water in 2023. In 2024, with China also increasing its influence in artificial intelligence, the company increased its water consumption by 8% to 22.7 billion liters. According to data obtained from the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization, and Climate Change’s website titled “Environmental Indicators,” Turkey’s water consumption in 2022 was 63 billion liters. Therefore, Google alone consumes water equivalent to one-third of Turkey’s annual consumption on a yearly basis. Why do data centers use water? Data centers use water to benefit from cooling systems to maintain the performance of overheating computer servers. Water is extensively used in cooling facilities, evaporative cooling systems, and humidification in data centers to regulate temperature levels. The fact that almost all of the waters used by the company are potable brings the water consumption of data centers into the forefront of discussions at a time when water crises are expected. The electricity consumption rates of data centers are also increasing every year. Moreover, the electricity consumption rates of data centers are also increasing every year. According to the International Energy Agency, advancements in artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency technologies are expected to double the electricity consumption of data centers by 2026. As a result, data centers’ energy consumption, which was 460 terawatt-hours in 2022, is expected to increase to 1000 terawatt-hours by 2026. This means that the energy consumption of data centers will be approximately twice the annual energy consumption of Germany (507 terawatt-hours).