Climate refugia — areas with stable microclimates buffering against climate change — are critical welfare resources for species unable to migrate rapidly enough to track shifting climate zones.
Individual animal welfare during climate change depends on access to thermal refugia where body temperature can be maintained within tolerable limits. Animals trapped in habitats without refugia during extreme heat events face welfare harm from thermal stress. Habitat management that creates and connects refugia provides welfare benefit proportional to the number of individuals that can access them. Mature woodland creation, wetland restoration, and habitat connectivity are therefore welfare investments as well as conservation actions.