U.S. — PJM Interconnection received emergency authorization in May from the U.S. Energy Department to curtail power to data centers due to atypically hot mid-May weather conditions.

Zurich Insurance reported on June 29 that severe weather represents the leading cause of loss in its U.S. data center portfolio. Companies operating data centers have committed at least $750 billion to the sector so far in 2026. In the previous year, these companies committed $450 billion to the sector.

A study conducted by First Street determined that 79% of global data center capacity faces high risks from climate and weather elements, including heatwaves and flash flooding. Within this study, the Carolinas were ranked 5th and Virginia 6th in climate risk among the 97 global data center markets surveyed.

An analysis by the Guardian found that 517 of 809 planned U.S. data centers are situated in areas that have been under drought warnings in the past year. Texas is home to at least 248 planned data center projects.

An analysis by Rest of World found that approximately 7,000 of 8,808 operational data centers globally are located in areas where typical temperatures exceed the optimal range for servers. Researchers with the World Economic Forum estimated that extreme weather could lead to a $3.3 trillion cost for data centers by 2055. They also found that climate-related costs, driven primarily by high heat, could result in losses amounting to nearly 10% of the total asset value for data centers.