Image by Brett Jordan, from Unsplash

Delete Old Emails to Save Water, Environment Agency Tells Brits

• Written by Kiara Fabbri Former Tech News Writer
• Fact-Checked by Sarah Frazier Former Content Manager

The UK’s Environment Agency urges citizens to combat the severe drought through both traditional and innovative steps, such as discarding old emails and photos.

In a rush? Here are the quick facts:

• UK faces driest six months to July since 1976.
• Environment Agency urges deleting old emails to save water.
• Advice sparks debate over its real water-saving impact.

The Environment Agency says the UK has experienced its driest six months to July since 1976, with the current shortage now classified as a “nationally significant incident,” as reported by The Independent . Five areas are officially in drought, while six others face “prolonged dry weather.”

The National Drought Group (NDG) advises people to follow standard water-saving measures, including taking shorter showers, avoiding watering lawns, storing rainwater, and repairing leaks, while also highlighting the water consumption of digital storage.

Cloud file storage relies on data centres that use massive amounts of water to keep systems cool. A 1-megawatt data centre requires 26 million litres of water annually, according to research conducted at Oxford University.

Helen Wakeham, the Environment Agency’s director of water and NDG chair, said : “The current situation is nationally significant, and we are calling on everyone to play their part and help reduce the pressure on our water environment […] Simple, everyday choices – such as turning off a tap or deleting old emails – also really helps the collective effort to reduce demand and help preserve the health of our rivers and wildlife.”

The advice has sparked debate, as noted by TechSpot . Experts agree that data centre cooling consumes 560 billion litres of water annually, but note that deleting stored files has little immediate impact, as stored data produces minimal heat.

Some suggest the UK could conserve more water by decreasing its reliance on generative AI, as one 400-token AI response allegedly uses 45 ml of water, according to a report .

Training models is energy-intensive, but handling billions of daily queries consumes even more. Exact figures are hard to obtain, as tech companies rarely disclose detailed usage , forcing researchers to rely on estimates.

The issue is not limited to the UK. In the U.S., large data centres also consume millions of gallons of water on hot days to cool servers. Experts warn that such facilities can strain local water supplies, as “these are very hot processors,” requiring substantial cooling, according to Mark Mills of the National Center for Energy Analytics.

Recent research shows that AI data centers consume about 2% of global electricity, and sending one AI-assisted email weekly for a year uses 7.5 kWh, equal to an hour’s power for nine households.

Meanwhile, the Met Office warns dry, settled conditions are likely to continue across much of England.

Photo by René Ranisch on Unsplash

Russia Restricts WhatsApp And Telegram Voice Calls

• Written by Andrea Miliani Former Tech News Expert
• Fact-Checked by Sarah Frazier Former Content Manager

Russia announced on Wednesday that voice calls on the messaging apps Telegram and WhatsApp will be restricted. The government accuses the platforms of failing to provide law enforcement with information related to fraud and terrorism.

In a rush? Here are the quick facts:

• Russia announced restrictions on voice calls on Telegram and WhatsApp.
• The Russian regulator said the tech companies fail to comply with Russian legislation by not providing users’ data to law enforcement.
• WhatsApp said it will not remove its end-to-end encryption principle.

According to Al Jazeera , Russia’s media and internet regulator, Roskomnadzor, said the measure to restrict phone calls was necessary to combat crime.

“According to law enforcement agencies and numerous appeals from citizens, foreign messengers Telegram and WhatsApp have become the main voice services used to deceive and extort money, and to involve Russian citizens in sabotage and terrorist activities,” said Roskomnadzor in a statement.

The Russian media research firm Mediascope estimates that the restrictions could affect about 96 million monthly WhatsApp users and 89 million Telegram users.

Roskomnadzor explained that it is requiring these platforms to comply with Russian legislation and provide the requested information whenever authorities consider it necessary.

According to Reuters , WhatsApp said that the Russian government wants the company to remove the end-to-end encryption, something the tech giant considers non-negotiable.

“WhatsApp is private, end-to-end encrypted, and defies government attempts to violate people’s right to secure communication, which is why Russia is trying to block it from over 100 million Russian people,” said WhatsApp to Reuters in a statement. “We will keep doing all we can to make end-to-end encrypted communication available to people everywhere, including in Russia.”

Telegram—Russian tech entrepreneur Pavel Durov—said it has been using moderators and AI tools to monitor malicious content and tackle unauthorized operations. “Telegram actively combats harmful use of its platform, including calls for sabotage or violence and fraud,” said the company in a statement.

Russian authorities said that only voice calls were restricted, but users have reported that video calls have been impacted, too.

The country has also been in multiple disputes with other tech companies. Earlier this year, the government fined Google over YouTube content , and last year it shut down AdSense accounts .