Poultry farming in hot climates faces acute welfare challenges from heat stress that kill millions of birds annually and require targeted management interventions.
Poultry heat stress welfare is a growing crisis as climate change increases temperatures in key producing regions. Fast-growing broiler breeds generate enormous metabolic heat that compounds ambient temperature stress, creating welfare emergencies at lower temperatures than traditional breeds. Mortality events killing tens of thousands of birds in a single flock represent acute welfare catastrophes alongside the chronic welfare harm of non-lethal heat stress. Investment in evaporative cooling systems, ventilation infrastructure, and shade provision dramatically reduces heat welfare harm. Climate change is making this investment increasingly urgent across major poultry-producing regions in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.