UK government wants you to delete old emails and pictures to save water https://www.gov.uk/government/news/national-drought-group-meets-to-address-nationally-significant-water-shortfall
Not satire. Not a parody. Real advice from a government facing its worst drought since 1976. They’re calling it a “nationally significant incident.” And their solution? Clear your inbox. Because data centres use water to cool their systems. Because your unread emails are apparently boiling rivers. Because AI and crypto mining don’t exist, apparently.
“Data centres can consume up to 26 million litres of water annually… Officials warn that digital clutter is quietly consuming millions of litres of water annually through the operation of data centres, which rely heavily on water for cooling.” https://invezz.com/news/2025/08/14/uk-drought-crisis-prompts-calls-to-delete-old-emails-saving-millions-of-litres-of-water/
“The UK government’s Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs said that data centres require ‘vast amounts of water’ to maintain the thermals of their systems. Hence, getting rid of some digital data might be useful.” https://www.gadgets360.com/internet/features/uk-government-delete-old-emails-pictures-plea-to-save-water-amid-drought-9084738
“Deleting old files will have almost no impact on water consumption, and the process of searching for and deleting them may even use more energy and resources than simple storage.” https://ukranews.com/en/news/1099507-in-britain-government-urges-citizens-to-delete-old-emails-and-photos-to-save-water
“Not only will deleting your data be very unlikely to help with water conservation, it could wind up doing the opposite… Things like generative AI processes, not holding a few jpegs.” https://www.pcgamer.com/software/ai/the-pro-ai-uk-government-has-advised-citizens-to-delete-old-emails-and-pictures-as-data-centres-require-vast-amounts-of-water-to-cool-their-systems-to-help-reduce-water-consumption-during-national-drought/
Your vacation photos aren’t draining reservoirs. AI inference is. Crypto farms are. And the government’s response is to tell people to clear their spam folders. It’s drought theatre. Inbox hygiene won’t stop server farms from boiling lakes. Delete your emails? Sure. Right after you shut down the GPU clusters.