Climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of extreme weather events, creating new welfare challenges for livestock farmers who must prepare for both heat waves and flooding.
Extreme weather events represent acute welfare emergencies for livestock, with heat stress and flooding causing significant suffering and mortality. Climate change is making these events more frequent and severe, requiring farmers to invest in preparedness rather than treating extreme weather as exceptional. Heat stress in particular is a chronic welfare problem in intensively managed cattle during summer months, with impacts on reproductive success and immune function that accumulate over the lactation cycle. Proactive climate adaptation, including shade provision, ventilation improvements, and emergency response planning, directly improves animal welfare while also protecting farm business viability.