An Indian student confronted NVIDIA’s sustainability chief during Climate Week NYC over the environmental impact of AI and the expansion of data centres. The exchange took place while Josh Parker, NVIDIA’s sustainability chief, was speaking on a panel in New York. The student said, “My family in India are dying from droughts because of you,” while raising concerns about the environmental impact of AI. NVIDIA designs and builds computer chips and software used for AI, data centres and robotics. The discussion comes as India’s data centre capacity continues to expand. According to the Press Information Bureau, installed data centre capacity in India increased from 375 MW in 2020 to about 1,575 MW in 2026. Data centres generate heat while operating servers and require cooling systems. The Times of India has reported that evaporative cooling uses water to remove heat generated by servers. Another student at the Climate Week NYC panel raised concerns about NVIDIA’s reported multi-million investment deal with Israel. Parker did not address the protesters directly. He said companies must be transparent about the infrastructure impacts of their operations. The expansion of data centres has also brought attention to water resources. The Times of India reported that proposed data centre projects in the Visakhapatnam region are expected to require water for their operations, while the area has also faced water shortage concerns. The discussion at Climate Week NYC has therefore brought AI, data centre expansion and water use into the same conversation.