If our datacentres cannot take the heat, the UK could really go off the rails | John Naughton

Shapps explained that the railway system over which he currently presides was designed to operate between temperatures of -10C and 35C. And, in an astute move to preempt a furious Daily Mail editorial about staunch British rail tracks surely being able to cope with temperatures a mere five degrees above their design limit, he pointed out that if the air temperature is 40C, the actual temperature of the rails might be twice that. They are, after all, made of steel and could conceivably buckle in the heat, which is why some lines had been closed that day.

None of this will come as a surprise to anyone who has been lucky enough to have visited one of these centres. (Since the tech companies are exceedingly sensitive about them, invitations are rare.) Basically, they are huge, windowless metal sheds, often constructed in remote locations, and surrounded by military-grade perimeter fencing. Inside are many thousands of stripped-down PCs (called servers) arranged in vertical racks.

Critical distanceIf you feel in need of some perspective, an essay by Max Fisher in the New York Times, Is the World Really Falling Apart, or Does It Just Feel That Way?, explores trying to take the long view.