Detrimental characteristics of climate change on livestock production and reproduction

Agriculture and animal rearing are the most important resources of income for the farmers and indirectly have a big share in the economy of a country. Pakistan is one of the 16 regarding countries most vulnerable to environment change. Climate changes is one of the main threats affecting the sustainability of the livestock production system, which further leads to affects the other different factors associated with the animal health,  production, reproduction and its adaptability. Dairy sector is the most susceptible segment to the climate change. A widely used as a parameter for the measurement of thermal stress in animals is temperature humidity index (THI). The health status of dairy animals and decreases in their milk production and reproductive performance are adversely affected by environmental stress, which results in the massive economic losses. Alteration in the temperature, humidity, rainfall and atmospheric carbon dioxide are expected via global climate change. The dairy sector is more prone to climate change and global warming where it is most oftenly affected by the temperature and humidity such as temperature humidity index (THI). The combined effect of high temperature and high humidity results in adverse effects on reproductive performance of farm animals. Among the major environmental factors affecting the livestock production system includes temperature, relative humidity (RH), solar radiation, precipitation and wind speed. The heat stress play major role in the declining of fertility in lactating dairy cows and reducing the conception rate. The management strategies such as microclimatic modification, improved housing and management intervention, usage of fogger and sprinkler with or without fan, nutritional and feeding management, feeding strategies and changing in reproductive protocol like artificial insemination protocol are to be strictly followed to improve the adverse effects of heat stress on production and reproduction in dairy animals during the summer season