Climate Risk Threatens $4.4 Billion in Data Center Losses
Jupiter Intelligence estimates annual climate-related losses to data centers from floods, wind and wildfires at US$4.4 billion.
Updated on Nov. 13, 2026 in Data Centers
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Jupiter Intelligence, a privately-held risk analytics company, published a report on November 13 estimating annual losses from floods, wind and wildfires to data centers at US$4.4 billion. A separate Schneider Electric Research Institute analysis found climate risk puts 38 per cent of the value of the world's data centers at risk before adaptation.
Why it matters
Much of the climate-related cost is currently uninsured, and data center debt is typically short-term while many of the rising costs will emerge over the longer term. Exposure is concentrated in regions with high flood and storm risk.
The Jupiter Intelligence study modelled 14,000 operational data centers, with 61 per cent of climate risk falling on IT equipment rather than buildings. Of roughly 2,600 planned data centers studied, more than 150 are slated for sites facing high physical climate risk.
The players
Jupiter Intelligence
A privately-held risk analytics company that produces climate and physical risk assessments for businesses and infrastructure.
Schneider Electric Research Institute
The research arm of the global energy management and automation company Schneider Electric, which studies energy and digital infrastructure.
The details
The analysis identifies coastal inundation, high heat and riverine flooding as key hazards to data centre sites. Many data centre hubs in China sit in three low-lying deltas and flood plains exposed to monsoon rain and typhoons.
Timeline
Earlier in 2026: study of roughly 2,600 planned data centres released.
November 13, 2026: Jupiter Intelligence publishes its climate loss report.
The Tech Race
The Jupiter loss estimate extends the Schneider Electric Research Institute finding that 38 per cent of global data centre value is at climate risk before adaptation. Together the two analyses shift attention from whether data centres are exposed to how much that exposure will cost operators and their lenders.
Because climate-related costs are largely uninsured and data centre debt is short-term, the expense of flood and heat damage may eventually surface in the cloud services and digital products that depend on these facilities. The longer-term nature of the cost increase means the financial effects are likely to emerge gradually rather than all at once.
The takeaway
Climate exposure is now a measurable cost for data centre operators, and much of it remains uninsured and financed on short-term debt. Watching how operators and lenders respond to these longer-term costs will show how the sector adapts.
Further reading
For more on the infrastructure behind these facilities, see Data Centers.
Source note: This article includes information reported by The Business Times.
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