Livestock heat stress is intensifying with climate change, and adaptation strategies must be urgently scaled to protect billions of farm animals from welfare harm in warmer conditions.
Livestock heat stress represents the welfare dimension of climate change adaptation — a challenge that is growing in urgency as extreme heat events become more frequent and severe. Current housing systems designed for temperate climates become inadequate welfare environments during heat events. The adaptation challenge is substantial: retrofitting existing housing with fans, misters, and shade structures; shifting production toward heat-tolerant breeds; adjusting feeding and management schedules to cooler periods; and planning for more frequent and severe heat events in the future. The welfare cost of inaction — chronic heat stress causing suffering, reproductive failure, and mortality — provides the ethical mandate for urgent adaptation investment.