‘Slough is like an experiment’: Europe’s largest datacentre hub leaves town sweltering
Key takeaways
- Photograph: Martin Godwin/The Guardian View image in fullscreen.
- Aisha Down Fri 26 Jun 2026 08.00 BSTLast modified on Fri 26 Jun 2026 08.02 BSTShare Prefer the Guardian on Google.
- On days like Wednesday, said Nabeel Nawaz, the store manager of a Chaiiwala franchise in the centre of Slough, the heat is like something “pinching your body and burning your skin”.
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A datacentre in Slough. Photograph: Martin Godwin/The Guardian View image in fullscreen. A datacentre in Slough. Photograph: Martin Godwin/The Guardian Extreme heat‘Slough is like an experiment’: Europe’s largest datacentre hub leaves town sweltering Emerging research suggests datacentres create a heat island effect, pushing up temperatures in the immediate vicinity by as much as 9C
Aisha Down Fri 26 Jun 2026 08.00 BSTLast modified on Fri 26 Jun 2026 08.02 BSTShare Prefer the Guardian on Google. The community living next to the largest datacentre park in Europe say the scorching summer heat has grown unbearable.
On days like Wednesday, said Nabeel Nawaz, the store manager of a Chaiiwala franchise in the centre of Slough, the heat is like something “pinching your body and burning your skin”.