Mumbai's Datacentre Boom Exposes City to 'Toxic Hell'
Every day, Kiran Kasbe drives his rickshaw taxi through his home neighbourhood of Mahul on Mumbai's eastern seafront, down streets lined with stalls selling tomatoes, bottle gourds and aubergines – and frequently, through thick smog. The air in the area is famously dirty, even behind closed car windows.
Kasbe's 54-year-old mother suffered from brain cancer after moving to Mahul in 2018. While the cause of her illness remains unclear, people who live near coal plants are more likely to develop the disease. The residents of Mahul live just a few hundred metres down the road from one of these plants.
The decision by Tata Group and Adani's two coal plants in Mumbai was due to close last year as part of the government's effort to reduce emissions. However, these plans were reversed after Tata argued that electricity demand was rising too fast for the city to go without coal.
Instead, India is rapidly building datacentres as it transforms its economy into a hub for artificial intelligence. The biggest single factor in the city's failure to end its dependence on fossil fuels is energy-hungry datacentres.
Amazon is the world's largest corporate operator of datacentres and has three "availability zones" in Mumbai, according to leaked records. However, most of these facilities are leased rather than owned by Amazon or are shared with other companies.
The company claims it is committed to renewable energy but has been accused of using 'creative accounting' to inflate its green credentials. A recent report found that the 16 datacentres operated by Amazon in Mumbai use enough electricity to power over 400,000 Indian households for a year.
Despite this, the Indian government continues to allow coal plants to operate in order to meet rising energy demand from datacentres. Even with these plants closed, Mumbai's power grid is struggling under strain, and Amazon has been forced to buy diesel generators as backup.
In August, a report by the Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy found that diesel generators were a major source of air pollution in the region.
Every day, Kiran Kasbe drives his rickshaw taxi through his home neighbourhood of Mahul on Mumbai's eastern seafront, down streets lined with stalls selling tomatoes, bottle gourds and aubergines – and frequently, through thick smog. The air in the area is famously dirty, even behind closed car windows.
Kasbe's 54-year-old mother suffered from brain cancer after moving to Mahul in 2018. While the cause of her illness remains unclear, people who live near coal plants are more likely to develop the disease. The residents of Mahul live just a few hundred metres down the road from one of these plants.
The decision by Tata Group and Adani's two coal plants in Mumbai was due to close last year as part of the government's effort to reduce emissions. However, these plans were reversed after Tata argued that electricity demand was rising too fast for the city to go without coal.
Instead, India is rapidly building datacentres as it transforms its economy into a hub for artificial intelligence. The biggest single factor in the city's failure to end its dependence on fossil fuels is energy-hungry datacentres.
Amazon is the world's largest corporate operator of datacentres and has three "availability zones" in Mumbai, according to leaked records. However, most of these facilities are leased rather than owned by Amazon or are shared with other companies.
The company claims it is committed to renewable energy but has been accused of using 'creative accounting' to inflate its green credentials. A recent report found that the 16 datacentres operated by Amazon in Mumbai use enough electricity to power over 400,000 Indian households for a year.
Despite this, the Indian government continues to allow coal plants to operate in order to meet rising energy demand from datacentres. Even with these plants closed, Mumbai's power grid is struggling under strain, and Amazon has been forced to buy diesel generators as backup.
In August, a report by the Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy found that diesel generators were a major source of air pollution in the region.
just heard about mumbai's datacentre boom & i'm literally dying 
over here... like, we're trying to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels but then these massive energy-hungry datacentres come along and just negate all the progress 
. and amazon's got 3 "availability zones" in mumbai alone?! that's insane 
i mean, i get it, india needs to catch up with the ai game & all, but can't we find a more sustainable solution?! 
maybe like, investing in green energy or something? 
anywayz, looks like mahul is literally living in a toxic hell 
. gotta spread awareness about this & hope something changes soon! 
The more I think about it, the more it's clear that this datacentre boom is like a double-edged sword 
. On one hand, it's awesome to see Mumbai become a hub for AI and all that jazz 
. But on the other hand, all those energy-hungry datacentres are sucking up our resources like there's no tomorrow 
. I mean, we're trying to reduce emissions and go green, but then we just shift our problems to other areas like air pollution 
. It's like, can't we find a better way to power all this tech? 
it's like india is trying to chase that green tech dream but they're ignoring the collateral damage... shouldn't be this hard, datacentres can run on renewables too, amazon knows it so why are they still burning fossil fuels? 
and amazon's all like "oh, we're committed to renewable energy" but really they're just fiddling with their numbers like a bunch of accounting wizards 
. I mean, we can't just keep burning coal for the sake of progress – that's toxic hell right there 
. Can't they be more transparent about their energy usage? It's like, if you're gonna be a leader in AI, can't you also lead on sustainability? 
I mean, we know India needs to move towards renewable energy but come on, can't they see what's happening? The air quality in Mahul is a disaster 
Meanwhile, India is all about embracing AI and innovation but where's the sustainable growth? 
but then they just kinda... reverse course? It's like they're not taking this seriously enough. I get it, energy demand is rising, but can't we find a better way to meet it?! Datacentres are great and all, but not at the cost of our health! 
The Indian government is just playing dumb now, saying they're committed to renewables but really, they're still propping up coal and making the problem worse 
i mean what's worse is when you think about the health impacts on ppl living nearby, especially elderly like kasbe's mom 
brain cancer from air pollution? no thanks 
so yeah lets focus on switching to clean energy instead of relying on old fossil fuels 
amazon might be saying they're committed to renewable energy but its all about the numbers, right? 
400k households for a year is wild... lets keep pushing for change! 
. All this datacentre boom is exposing Mumbai to toxic hell. I mean, it's one thing to go green but if it's at the cost of people's health and environment, then that's a different story. Our government should be doing more to support renewable energy and reduce our reliance on coal and diesel.
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kasbe's mom died after moving to mahul due to bad air quality i feel so bad for him & his family what about all the scientists warning us about climate change? 
. it's not like India can't afford to invest in clean energy, but nope, let's just keep burning coal 
. There are still so many people working towards a sustainable future, and there's always room for improvement. Maybe we can learn from our mistakes and start building datacentres with renewable energy in mind. It's not too late to make things right