Archive · 3 Sep 2026
Sam Altman Challenges Claims About AI Water Consumption
AI computers need data centres to run, and data centres sometimes use water for cooling.
Sam Altman said people often exaggerate how much water ChatGPT uses.
He compared one almond grown in California with 38,000 ChatGPT questions.
However, he said he was remembering that number and it might not be exact.
Other figures suggest one almond uses the same water as about 11,000 ChatGPT questions.
Different data centres use different amounts of water.
Some use about as much water as a large office building, while others use more water-intensive cooling systems.
People are debating this because some parts of the western United States already have water shortages.
Technology companies say they are working to use less water.
Sam Altman said 38,000 ChatGPT queries use about as much water as producing one California almond.
Altman acknowledged he was recalling the comparison from memory and that it could be inaccurate.
Earlier figures cited 0.32 millilitres of water per ChatGPT query and 3.56 litres per California almond.
Those figures imply one almond would equal roughly 11,000 ChatGPT queries, not 38,000.
Research indicates data-centre water use varies, while some cooling systems can worsen shortages in water-stressed regions.
- Who
- OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, researchers, technology companies, and communities concerned about data-centre water use.
- What
- A debate over how much water ChatGPT and AI data centres consume, including Altman’s comparison between ChatGPT queries and California almonds.
- When
- Altman discussed the issue on the Sources podcast; he had cited a 0.32-millilitre-per-query figure in June, while other research cited dates from 2019 and 2024.
- Where
- The discussion concerns AI data centres, California almond production, and data-centre development in the United States, including Virginia and the western US.
- Why
- Water use has become a concern because data centres require cooling and some regions face existing water shortages.
Altman and data-centre defenders
Environmental and community concerns
Scale of AI water use
Altman and data-centre defenders
Sam Altman argued that claims portraying each ChatGPT query as using extreme amounts of water are exaggerated and said modern large data centres use roughly the amount of water required by an office building for routine needs.
Environmental and community concerns
Environmental concerns remain because water use varies considerably between facilities, and research warns that water-intensive cooling can worsen existing shortages, particularly in the western United States.
Reliability of the almond comparison
Altman and data-centre defenders
Altman used the almond comparison to argue that ChatGPT’s water use is relatively small and said the 38,000-query figure was close to the actual number.
Environmental and community concerns
The comparison is disputed by the figures cited in the report: 0.32 millilitres per query and 3.56 litres per almond imply roughly 11,000 queries per almond, while Altman acknowledged his number might be inaccurate.
Data-centre development
Altman and data-centre defenders
Technology companies are reporting efforts to reduce water use, including Amazon’s reported 2% annual reduction and Microsoft’s reported improvement of up to 90% over its earliest facilities.
Environmental and community concerns
Many residents oppose new data centres near their homes, with a Gallup survey finding that 71% opposed nearby facilities and citing environmental impact and resource use among their concerns.
- Altman’s comparison
- Altman said 38,000 ChatGPT queries use the same amount of water as producing one California almond.
- Altman’s caveat
- He said he was recalling the 38,000-query figure from memory and that it could be inaccurate.
- ChatGPT estimate
- Altman said in June that one ChatGPT query uses 0.32 millilitres of water.
- Almond estimate
- A 2019 study by researchers affiliated with the US Geological Survey estimated that one California almond requires 3.56 litres of water.
- Calculated comparison
- Using those figures, one almond corresponds to roughly 11,000 ChatGPT queries.
- Public opposition
- A May Gallup survey cited by Business Insider found that 71% of Americans opposed a data centre near their home; 18% specifically cited water use.
- Company water initiatives
- Amazon reported a 2% decrease in data-centre water use in 2025 from the previous year, while Microsoft reported up to 90% better water efficiency than in its earliest facilities.