为什么南马天气越来越热？ 全球正进入高温新常态？恐怕是AI数据中心导致周边温度上升，形成热岛效应

aidj

数天前《聚焦大马》报道，专家就建议扩大城市绿地与水域空间、增加植树，并设立降温中心，以减轻“城市热岛效应”带来的影响。

隨著資料中心在美國快速增加，科學家正積極評估其對周邊社區的影響。過去研究已顯示，這類設施會對當地電力與水資源造成壓力、推高公用事業成本，並排放有害污染物。如今最新研究指出，資料中心排出的廢熱甚至可能提高下風處社區的氣溫。

吹冷气

kmrddecade

老兄。。。。。。吹得太过了吧

Engineer

数据中心应该像发电站一样建在海边，可以减少很多水量，同时把热能排入大海

为人民服务

马来一直砍树，不热才怪

aidj

为人民服务 发表于 4-6-2026 11:17 PM
马来一直砍树，不热才怪

我从 Iskandar 到 Larkin 沿途经过的绿地 已经消失不见了

aidj

kmrddecade 发表于 4-6-2026 09:57 PM
老兄。。。。。。吹得太过了吧

看看美国数据

ilovet

空中说话

为人民服务 发表于 4-6-2026 11:17 PM
马来一直砍树，不热才怪

把树木砍掉，改建高入云霄的钢骨森林。

这些洋灰在吸热排热过程中不可小看。

空中说话

Engineer 发表于 4-6-2026 10:25 PM
数据中心应该像发电站一样建在海边，可以减少很多水量，同时把热能排入大海 ...

别高兴数据中心建在马来西亚，

它是一个高耗电，高耗水源的东西。

Engineer

空中说话 发表于 5-6-2026 09:02 AM
别高兴数据中心建在马来西亚，

它是一个高耗电，高耗水源的东西。

搬去海边就不耗水源，但肯定是高耗电量

空中说话

Engineer 发表于 5-6-2026 01:12 PM
搬去海边就不耗水源，但肯定是高耗电量

搬去海边要建一个海水净化厂，耗费比较高。

Engineer

空中说话 发表于 5-6-2026 01:46 PM
搬去海边要建一个海水净化厂，耗费比较高。

不需要，海水不需要净化给冷却塔使用，而是把冷水机的冷却水间接降温
使用板式交换器就能把海水和循环冷却水完全隔开

家里蹲国仙

Malaysia
This Week in Asia / Economics

Malaysia’s gas-guzzling data centre boom clashes with its clean energy goals


Across Malaysia, dozens of data centres hum around the clock, powered by electricity that increasingly comes from gas-fired turbines

A gas-fired power plant in Melaka. Gas-fired power generation has surged in Malaysia, driven by data-centre growth, electrification, climate stress and electric-vehicle uptake. Photo: Shutterstock

Ushar Daniele  and Iman Muttaqin Yusof
Published: 8:00am, 7 Jun 2026

Malaysia has staked its economic future on becoming Southeast Asia’s data-centre capital. It has also promised to slash fossil fuel use by 2050. Right now, those two ambitions are pulling in opposite directions – and gas is winning.

There were 54 operational data centres across Malaysia by the end of 2024, with that number expected to rise to 81 by 2035, government minister Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir told parliament last year. In the handful of years from 2021 and mid-2025, some 144.4 billion ringgit (US$36.3 billion) in data-centre and cloud-computing investments were approved by the Malaysian Investment Development Authority, reflecting landmark pledges from AI hyperscalers including Microsoft, Google and Amazon Web Services.

A data centre under construction in Malaysia’s Johor state. There were 54 operational data centres across Malaysia by the end of 2024. Photo: AP
A data centre under construction in Malaysia’s Johor state. There were 54 operational data centres across Malaysia by the end of 2024. Photo: AP
All those server racks humming around the clock require massive amounts of energy to stay functional and cooling to prevent their component parts from overheating. Increasingly, the power they need is coming from gas-fired turbines.

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Gas-fired power generation surged 50.5 per cent year on year in April – its fastest annual pace in at least eight years – hitting a record 5.54 terawatt-hours, data from Malaysia’s Grid System Operator showed. Electricity demand on the peninsula, which accounts for about 80 per cent of national demand, jumped 11.5 per cent over the same period and forecasts point to it climbing further.

Demand had already hit a new peak last year, industry regulator the Energy Commission confirmed in its annual review in April, driven by data-centre growth, electrification, climate stress and electric-vehicle uptake.

Meanwhile, state-run energy giant Petronas has shipped 446,000 tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from offshore fields to the Malaysian peninsula so far this year: nearly triple the volume over the same period in 2025, according to market intelligence firm Kpler.

A motorcyclist drives past LNG tankers in the Malacca Strait in Malaysia in April. Malaysia was a major LNG exporter for many years but has recently begun securing long-term LNG import contracts. Photo: EPA
A motorcyclist drives past LNG tankers in the Malacca Strait in Malaysia in April. Malaysia was a major LNG exporter for many years but has recently begun securing long-term LNG import contracts. Photo: EPA

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has acknowledged the scale of the challenge. Data centres and advanced computing infrastructure would require “unprecedented levels of energy”, he said on Thursday at the Energy Transition Conference in Kuala Lumpur, adding that demand was projected to rise by more than 60 per cent by 2040.

“The challenge before us is not only to generate more energy, but to ensure that it remains secure, affordable and sustainable,” Anwar said.
Stopgap or trap?
Gas burns cleaner than coal. That much is undisputed. But analysts worry that Malaysia’s reliance on this cleaner transition fuel may harden into something more permanent. “Gas may not be the most secure option for Malaysia,” said Dinita Setyawati, a senior Asia energy analyst at Ember, the global energy think tank.

Overreliance could expose the country to price shocks and supply disruptions, with cascading effects on electricity tariffs, consumer prices and the economy as a whole, she said.
Power lines are seen near a power plant on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2023. Photo: AP
Power lines are seen near a power plant on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2023. Photo: AP

Natural gas has been a major part of Malaysia’s energy mix for decades thanks to large offshore reserves and mature production infrastructure that has historically allowed it to punch above its weight on the world stage. The country was a major LNG exporter for many years but has recently begun securing long-term LNG import contracts as demand begins to outstrip supply. Then there are the practical considerations: new gas power plants can take years to come online “given the prolonged waiting times for gas turbine procurement”, according to Dinita, with Malaysia’s domestic gas reserves declining ever further in the meantime.

In other parts of the world such as Britain and the United States, switching to natural gas helped reduce emissions because it was replacing a dirtier fuel such as coal, said climate strategy and sustainability strategist Chris Wright, principal analyst at climate consultancy CarbonBridge. But the same logic did not apply when gas was being used to power entirely new demand, as was the case with data centres, he said. “If data centres are linked to the grid, they could create incredible stress on local power and water needs in neighbouring communities,” Wright added.

A women uses an electric fan to cool off in Kuala Lumpur in 2023. The El Nino weather phenomenon is likely to return to Malaysia this year, bringing hotter and drier weather. Photo: AFP
A women uses an electric fan to cool off in Kuala Lumpur in 2023. The El Nino weather phenomenon is likely to return to Malaysia this year, bringing hotter and drier weather. Photo: AFP

Adding to that stress this year is the likely return of El Nino, a weather phenomenon that typically brings much hotter and drier weather to Malaysia. The World Meteorological Organisation has put the probability of an El Nino event between June and August at 80 per cent, rising to 90 per cent or more for it to persist through to at least November. “Although some uncertainty remains about El Nino peak strength and timing, most forecast models suggest it will be at least moderate and possibly strong,” the UN agency said in a statement on Tuesday.

For a tropical nation where air conditioning is a necessity rather than a luxury, hotter temperatures imply higher cooling demand, increased electricity consumption and more gas being burned. The projected El Nino could bring extreme heat and drought lasting potentially until April next year, said Fredolin Tangang, a climatology and climate change expert at the National University of Malaysia. “Whenever we have heatwaves, electricity demand increases,” he said. “It has always been the case.”

The challenge is no longer just generating enough electricity, but managing when, where and how demand grows

Renard Siew, climate change specialist
Still, a collision of rising temperatures, AI-driven computing demand, industrial electrification and the vulnerability of hydropower systems in a drying climate could make matters worse, said Renard Siew, a climate adviser at the Malaysia-based Centre for Governance and Political Studies. “The challenge is no longer just generating enough electricity, but managing when, where and how demand grows,” he said.

The 2050 target
Under Malaysia’s energy transition road map, the government wants renewables to account for 70 per cent of power generation by 2050 – up from around 20 per cent today – with coal-fired plants to be phased out entirely by 2044. But consulting firm Roland Berger calculated in an article published last month that hitting those targets while meeting projected demand would require installed power capacity to more than double, from 47 gigawatts to 107GW by 2050. The scale of such a renewables buildout would be daunting for any power grid planner. Dieter Billen, Roland Berger’s Southeast Asia head of energy and sustainability, said one option could fill the gap, however.

A small solar farm is seen beside a road in Malaysia’s Selangor state. Photo: Shutterstock
A small solar farm is seen beside a road in Malaysia’s Selangor state. Photo: Shutterstock
“Nuclear energy, including small modular reactors, is a potential zero-carbon baseload solution that could help Malaysia reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels and stabilise electricity prices amid global energy market volatility,” he said. Ember’s Dinita, meanwhile, argued that the country had barely scratched the surface of its solar potential – an estimated 95 per cent is untapped – and the combination of accelerated solar deployment, transmission expansion, smart-grid investment and energy storage could, in principle, meet data-centre demand on clean terms. “This could be a pathway to clean electricity that can deliver increased affordability and security benefits for the country,” she said. Whether Malaysia can thread the needle of accelerating digital investment while honouring its climate commitments, managing grid demand through a punishing summer – and resisting the path of least resistance that a gas-heavy present seems to offer – remains to be seen. This Week in Asia contacted Petronas and the Energy Commission for comment on Malaysia’s rising gas use, data centre demand and grid readiness. Neither had responded at the time of publication.

家里蹲国仙

Malaysia
This Week in Asia / Economics


Malaysia’s gas-guzzling data centre boom clashes with its clean energy goals


Across Malaysia, dozens of data centres hum around the clock, powered by electricity that increasingly comes from gas-fired turbines

A gas-fired power plant in Melaka. Gas-fired power generation has surged in Malaysia, driven by data-centre growth, electrification, climate stress and electric-vehicle uptake. Photo: Shutterstock

Ushar Daniele  and Iman Muttaqin Yusof
Published: 8:00am, 7 Jun 2026

Malaysia has staked its economic future on becoming Southeast Asia’s data-centre capital. It has also promised to slash fossil fuel use by 2050. Right now, those two ambitions are pulling in opposite directions – and gas is winning.

There were 54 operational data centres across Malaysia by the end of 2024, with that number expected to rise to 81 by 2035, government minister Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir told parliament last year. In the handful of years from 2021 and mid-2025, some 144.4 billion ringgit (US$36.3 billion) in data-centre and cloud-computing investments were approved by the Malaysian Investment Development Authority, reflecting landmark pledges from AI hyperscalers including Microsoft, Google and Amazon Web Services.

A data centre under construction in Malaysia’s Johor state. There were 54 operational data centres across Malaysia by the end of 2024. Photo: AP
A data centre under construction in Malaysia’s Johor state. There were 54 operational data centres across Malaysia by the end of 2024. Photo: AP
All those server racks humming around the clock require massive amounts of energy to stay functional and cooling to prevent their component parts from overheating. Increasingly, the power they need is coming from gas-fired turbines.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Gas-fired power generation surged 50.5 per cent year on year in April – its fastest annual pace in at least eight years – hitting a record 5.54 terawatt-hours, data from Malaysia’s Grid System Operator showed. Electricity demand on the peninsula, which accounts for about 80 per cent of national demand, jumped 11.5 per cent over the same period and forecasts point to it climbing further.

Demand had already hit a new peak last year, industry regulator the Energy Commission confirmed in its annual review in April, driven by data-centre growth, electrification, climate stress and electric-vehicle uptake.

Meanwhile, state-run energy giant Petronas has shipped 446,000 tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from offshore fields to the Malaysian peninsula so far this year: nearly triple the volume over the same period in 2025, according to market intelligence firm Kpler.

A motorcyclist drives past LNG tankers in the Malacca Strait in Malaysia in April. Malaysia was a major LNG exporter for many years but has recently begun securing long-term LNG import contracts. Photo: EPA
A motorcyclist drives past LNG tankers in the Malacca Strait in Malaysia in April. Malaysia was a major LNG exporter for many years but has recently begun securing long-term LNG import contracts. Photo: EPA

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has acknowledged the scale of the challenge. Data centres and advanced computing infrastructure would require “unprecedented levels of energy”, he said on Thursday at the Energy Transition Conference in Kuala Lumpur, adding that demand was projected to rise by more than 60 per cent by 2040.

“The challenge before us is not only to generate more energy, but to ensure that it remains secure, affordable and sustainable,” Anwar said.
Stopgap or trap?
Gas burns cleaner than coal. That much is undisputed. But analysts worry that Malaysia’s reliance on this cleaner transition fuel may harden into something more permanent. “Gas may not be the most secure option for Malaysia,” said Dinita Setyawati, a senior Asia energy analyst at Ember, the global energy think tank.

Overreliance could expose the country to price shocks and supply disruptions, with cascading effects on electricity tariffs, consumer prices and the economy as a whole, she said.
Power lines are seen near a power plant on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2023. Photo: AP
Power lines are seen near a power plant on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2023. Photo: AP

Natural gas has been a major part of Malaysia’s energy mix for decades thanks to large offshore reserves and mature production infrastructure that has historically allowed it to punch above its weight on the world stage. The country was a major LNG exporter for many years but has recently begun securing long-term LNG import contracts as demand begins to outstrip supply. Then there are the practical considerations: new gas power plants can take years to come online “given the prolonged waiting times for gas turbine procurement”, according to Dinita, with Malaysia’s domestic gas reserves declining ever further in the meantime.

In other parts of the world such as Britain and the United States, switching to natural gas helped reduce emissions because it was replacing a dirtier fuel such as coal, said climate strategy and sustainability strategist Chris Wright, principal analyst at climate consultancy CarbonBridge. But the same logic did not apply when gas was being used to power entirely new demand, as was the case with data centres, he said. “If data centres are linked to the grid, they could create incredible stress on local power and water needs in neighbouring communities,” Wright added.

A women uses an electric fan to cool off in Kuala Lumpur in 2023. The El Nino weather phenomenon is likely to return to Malaysia this year, bringing hotter and drier weather. Photo: AFP
A women uses an electric fan to cool off in Kuala Lumpur in 2023. The El Nino weather phenomenon is likely to return to Malaysia this year, bringing hotter and drier weather. Photo: AFP

Adding to that stress this year is the likely return of El Nino, a weather phenomenon that typically brings much hotter and drier weather to Malaysia. The World Meteorological Organisation has put the probability of an El Nino event between June and August at 80 per cent, rising to 90 per cent or more for it to persist through to at least November. “Although some uncertainty remains about El Nino peak strength and timing, most forecast models suggest it will be at least moderate and possibly strong,” the UN agency said in a statement on Tuesday.

For a tropical nation where air conditioning is a necessity rather than a luxury, hotter temperatures imply higher cooling demand, increased electricity consumption and more gas being burned. The projected El Nino could bring extreme heat and drought lasting potentially until April next year, said Fredolin Tangang, a climatology and climate change expert at the National University of Malaysia. “Whenever we have heatwaves, electricity demand increases,” he said. “It has always been the case.”

The challenge is no longer just generating enough electricity, but managing when, where and how demand grows

Renard Siew, climate change specialist
Still, a collision of rising temperatures, AI-driven computing demand, industrial electrification and the vulnerability of hydropower systems in a drying climate could make matters worse, said Renard Siew, a climate adviser at the Malaysia-based Centre for Governance and Political Studies. “The challenge is no longer just generating enough electricity, but managing when, where and how demand grows,” he said.

The 2050 target
Under Malaysia’s energy transition road map, the government wants renewables to account for 70 per cent of power generation by 2050 – up from around 20 per cent today – with coal-fired plants to be phased out entirely by 2044. But consulting firm Roland Berger calculated in an article published last month that hitting those targets while meeting projected demand would require installed power capacity to more than double, from 47 gigawatts to 107GW by 2050. The scale of such a renewables buildout would be daunting for any power grid planner. Dieter Billen, Roland Berger’s Southeast Asia head of energy and sustainability, said one option could fill the gap, however.

A small solar farm is seen beside a road in Malaysia’s Selangor state. Photo: Shutterstock
A small solar farm is seen beside a road in Malaysia’s Selangor state. Photo: Shutterstock
“Nuclear energy, including small modular reactors, is a potential zero-carbon baseload solution that could help Malaysia reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels and stabilise electricity prices amid global energy market volatility,” he said. Ember’s Dinita, meanwhile, argued that the country had barely scratched the surface of its solar potential – an estimated 95 per cent is untapped – and the combination of accelerated solar deployment, transmission expansion, smart-grid investment and energy storage could, in principle, meet data-centre demand on clean terms. “This could be a pathway to clean electricity that can deliver increased affordability and security benefits for the country,” she said. Whether Malaysia can thread the needle of accelerating digital investment while honouring its climate commitments, managing grid demand through a punishing summer – and resisting the path of least resistance that a gas-heavy present seems to offer – remains to be seen. This Week in Asia contacted Petronas and the Energy Commission for comment on Malaysia’s rising gas use, data centre demand and grid readiness. Neither had responded at the time of publication.