The move means they will be classed in the same category as key sectors such as emergency services, finance, and energy.

Announced by the new Labour government, it also means data centres will receive increased government support during major incidents, such as cyber attacks, IT outages, or extreme weather to minimise disruption.

Data centres – large warehouses housing banks of computers – are essential for powering services such as artificial intelligence applications, data processing, and streaming.

But their high energy and water consumption has drawn criticism.

Despite this, Technology Secretary Peter Kyle described them as "the engines of modern life" and emphasised the government’s backing for the sector.

With data centres now included in the UK's critical infrastructure, officials will be tasked with monitoring potential threats and coordinating responses during serious incidents.

It comes after a global IT outage, linked to cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike, caused significant disruption earlier this year.

But no new regulations or additional scrutiny of data centre operators' contingency plans are planned.

Cybersecurity expert Professor Alan Woodward from Surrey University said: "It’s not surprising that data centres are now classed as critical infrastructure.

"Many people think of services as being in the cloud, but everything is based on physical infrastructure."

The growing need for data centres is partly driven by the expansion of AI, which requires significant computing power.

Amazon Web Services recently announced an £8 billion investment in UK data centres, while Microsoft and Google are currently developing their own facilities.

Environmental concerns about the energy demands of data centres persist, with the National Grid warning that their power use could increase sixfold in the next decade.

Local opposition has also been an issue, with a proposed centre in Buckinghamshire rejected over green belt concerns.