孟买，10月9日——印度工程师图沙尔·谢蒂在孟买的公寓里，窗外景色映照出全球正在上演的一场紧张博弈：人工智能的爆发式发展，正推动着一场前所未有的数据中心建设热潮。
MUMBAI, Oct 9 - The view from Indian engineer Tushar Shetty's Mumbai apartment captures a tension playing out around the world as the artificial intelligence boom fuels an unprecedented data-centre building spree.
他21层公寓窗外，曾经是一片葱郁的绿地，如今却变成了一片赤红的伤疤——树木被砍伐，为亚马逊的一处设施腾出空间。该项目是这家科技巨头计划到2030年在印度投资210亿美元建设人工智能基础设施的一部分。
What was once a stretch of lush greenery outside his 21st-floor window is now a scar of red earth where trees were felled to make way for an Amazon facility that forms part of the tech giant's planned $21 billion investment in AI infrastructure in India by 2030.
“如果早知道，我绝不会买下这栋房子，”这位46岁的男子抱怨道，他是在五个月前才完成这笔购房交易。
"I would not have bought the house if I had known," said the 46-year-old, lamenting a purchase made just five months ago.
从弗吉尼亚州的郊区，到阿姆斯特丹和都柏林的城郊，居民们越来越强烈地反对人工智能数据中心的扩张，他们抱怨噪音、电力消耗激增、水资源紧张以及住宅区被工业化。
From the suburbs of Virginia to the outskirts of Amsterdam and Dublin, residents have increasingly rebelled against the spread of AI data centres, complaining of noise, surging electricity consumption, water stress and industrialisation of residential neighbourhoods.
这种抵制在印度正逐渐获得支持。亚马逊、谷歌和微软正斥资数十亿美元建设相关设施，以推动总理纳伦德拉·莫迪“承载全世界数据”的宏伟构想，其布局从西部的马哈拉施特拉邦一直延伸到南部的安得拉邦。
That resistance is gaining ground in India, where Amazon, Google and Microsoft are pouring billions into facilities that advance Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ambition to host "the whole world's data", stretching from Maharashtra in the west to Andhra Pradesh in the south.
目前，印度尚无法与美国和中国引领的前沿模式相匹敌，因此正选择一条不同的道路——押注于在人工智能的物理基础设施领域占据主导地位，或许同样具有巨大价值。
Unable for now to match the frontier models emerging from the US and China, India is pursuing a different path, betting that dominance in the physical backbone of artificial intelligence may prove just as valuable.
这一战略正是莫迪投资计划的核心。在全球“后台中心”光环渐褪之际，印度的雄心却与资源短缺以及数字经济基础设施周边社区的生活问题发生碰撞。
The strategy sits at the heart of Modi's investment pitch as the world's back office loses its shine, even as the ambition collides with concerns over scarce resources and communities living alongside the infrastructure powering the digital economy.
印度拥有全球4%的淡水，却承载着18%的世界人口，而数据中心正密集分布在那些本就缺水的城市。标准普尔全球评级（S&P Global）估计，本十年间，印度60%至80%的数据中心可能面临严重的水资源压力。
India holds 4% of the world's freshwater for 18% of its people, and data centres are clustering in cities already short of it. S&P Global estimates 60% to 80% of Indian data centres could face high water stress this decade.
研究机构Mordor Intelligence的数据显示，2025年，数据中心共消耗约1500亿升水，预计到2030年，这一数字将翻一番以上。
In 2025, data centres used about 150 billion litres of water, a figure projected to more than double by 2030, according to research firm Mordor Intelligence.
孟买附近的亚马逊项目正逐渐成为印度最引人注目的争议焦点之一。路透社对二十多名居民的采访以及对官方往来的梳理显示，人们日益担忧该项目会加剧当地电力和供水压力，并产生有害健康的噪音，尤其是对儿童和老年人。
The Amazon project near Mumbai is emerging as one of India's most prominent flashpoints. Reuters interviews with more than two dozen residents and a review of official correspondence show growing concerns it will strain local power and water supplies and generate noise harmful to health, particularly for children and the elderly.
亚马逊和当地当局强烈为该项目辩护，称其不会给公共基础设施带来负担，因为水电将来自专门供应的渠道。然而，这场争端仍引发了街头抗议，并促使反对派政治家介入其中。
Amazon and local authorities have strongly defended the project, saying it will not burden public utilities because water and power will come from dedicated sources. The dispute has nevertheless sparked street protests and drawn opposition politicians into the fight.
莫迪政府也公开为该项目辩护，在网上宣传数据中心是“驱动印度数字生活的隐形引擎”，并主张现代技术能更高效地利用水电资源。
Modi's government has also mounted a public defence, promoting data centres online as "the invisible engines powering India's digital life" and arguing modern technologies use water and electricity more efficiently.
电子与信息技术部、总理办公室以及马哈拉施特拉邦首席部长办公室均未回应置评请求。
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, the Prime Minister's Office and Maharashtra's chief minister's office did not respond to requests for comment.
9月8日，包括许多老人在内的数百名居民聚集在项目地旁，手持“数据中心是能源吸血鬼”的标语牌。他们希望该项目能迁至别处。
On September 8, hundreds of residents, including elderly people, gathered beside the site holding placards reading "Data centres are energy vampires". They want the project moved elsewhere.
“如果数据中心项目叫停，我们会留在这里……如果继续推进，我们就搬走。”62岁的瓦斯杜哈·谢蒂说道。她在该规划占地54英亩的设施附近购买了一套公寓，但更希望安享宁静的退休生活。
"If the data centre stops, we will stay ... If it goes ahead, we will move," said Vasudha Shetty, 62, who bought a flat near the 54-acre planned facility, but wants to prioritize a quiet retirement.
居住在该项目地附近的1000多名居民表示，该项目是在缺乏实质性协商的情况下强行推进的。
More than 1,000 residents living near the site say the project was pushed through without meaningful consultation.
在拥有全球最大规模数据中心的弗吉尼亚州，亚马逊曾于2024年暂停了三项设施的建设计划，原因是存在噪音和靠近住宅的担忧，并称希望有更多时间进行社区沟通。而孟买的居民则表示，他们从未获得过这样的机会。
In Virginia, home to the world's largest concentration of data centres, Amazon paused a 2024 proposal for three facilities amid concerns over noise and proximity to homes, saying it wanted more time for community engagement. Mumbai residents say they never got that chance.
据一位熟悉亚马逊规划的人士透露，从内部来看，亚马逊对此并不过于担忧，因为政府官员已表示这些抗议活动终将平息。尽管如此，该公司仍在制定社区沟通计划，以应对噪音、用水和供电方面的担忧。
Internally, Amazon is not overly concerned because government officials have indicated the protests will pass, according to a person familiar with its planning. Still, the company is drawing up community outreach plans to address concerns over noise, water and power.
“建设数据中心是有成本的。在全球范围内，亚马逊已准备好与社区合作，尽量减少任何不便，”这位人士说。“目前除了忍受抗议活动之外，别无选择。”亚马逊向路透社表示，该数据中心将采用无水冷却技术，配备独立于居民住宅的专用电源，并实施降噪措施。该公司还补充说，种植的树苗数量超过了移除的树木数量。
"Building data centres comes at a cost. Amazon at a global level is prepared to work with community and limit any inconvenience," the person said. "For now there is no other option but to live with protests." Amazon told Reuters the data centre will use water-free cooling, a dedicated power supply separate from homes and noise-mitigation measures. It added that more saplings were planted than trees removed.
然而，即便是部分行业高管也质疑数据中心是否应该建在居民区旁边。
Still, even some industry executives question whether data centres belong next to neighbourhoods.
“我绝不会在住宅区设立数据中心，”运营着14个数据中心的Sify Infinit Spaces首席执行官Sharad Agarwal在9月的一场行业活动上表示。“数据中心需要充足且不间断的电力和水源……如果建在住宅附近，在资源短缺时，两者都可能面临供应不足的风险。”微软也公布了在印度为期四年、投资205亿美元的计划，其中大部分将用于人工智能数据中心。
"I will never set up a data centre in a residential area," Sharad Agarwal, CEO of Sify Infinit Spaces, which runs 14 data centres, said at an industry event in September. "Centres need abundant, uninterrupted power and water ... and near homes they risk being starved of both in a shortage." Microsoft has also unveiled a four-year $20.5 billion investment plan for India, mostly earmarked for AI data centres.
在南部安得拉邦，环保人士反对谷歌耗资150亿美元的数据中心项目，称该项目对野生动物、水资源和电力供应构成风险，并指控项目未经批准就使用了寺庙的土地。谷歌和该邦政府均否认有任何不当行为。
In the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, environmentalists are opposing Google's $15 billion data centre project citing risks to wildlife, water and power supplies and alleging that a temple's land was used without permission. Google and the state deny any wrongdoing.
这种反对声浪也演变成了政治议题。9月，反对党议员Aaditya Thackeray加入了孟买的抗议者行列，要求将亚马逊项目迁址，并表示如果他的政党重新执政，就会推动项目搬迁。
The backlash has also turned political. In September, Aaditya Thackeray, an opposition legislator, joined Mumbai protesters demanding the Amazon project be relocated, saying his party would move it if returned to power.
回到孟买，房产中介Atul Jadhav表示，购房者对景观和房产价值的担忧可能正在影响附近房屋的转售价格。
Back in Mumbai, property broker Atul Jadhav said buyer concerns over views and property values may be hurting nearby resale prices.
“我们会走上街头，不惜一切代价阻止这个项目，”68岁的Vidya Kadam说。她已在此地居住30年。
"We will come out on the roads and do whatever it takes to stop it," said Vidya Kadam, 68, who has lived in the area for 30 years.