2026/01/12 by Žiga Malek, Linda See · 1 voice
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Environmental Science · #Agriculture Sustainability and Environmental Impact #Climate change impacts on agriculture #Effects of Environmental Stressors on Livestock
paper · pdf · doi:10.1038/s44264-025-00113-w
openalex publication_date 2026/01/12 · openalex created_date 2026/01/13 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
Among the many climate change impacts on the European cattle sector, heatwaves lead to some of the most profound impacts on the sector. It is therefore of utmost importance to estimate to what extent the European cattle sector can be exposed to heatwaves in the near future. Using outcomes of climate models, we analysed how cattle production systems in the wider European Union (EU) region will be exposed to changes in heatwave exposure under two scenarios. We look at both cattle systems, where animals predominantly graze on outdoor pastures, and those where they are kept indoors without access to the outdoors. We show that 6.2–13.7 million cattle livestock units (or 11.0–21.6% of current cattle in the EU and UK) will experience at least 15 additional heatwave days by 2050. This will affect 4.5–11.6% of cattle grazing outdoors compared with 18.3–+35% of cattle kept indoors without access to outdoor grazing. However, there are considerable differences between different countries in the region, with Southern European countries projected to be the most exposed. Our results therefore indicate, adaptation measures specific to different and diverse livestock system types and climatic regions across Europe are necessary for a more climate robust cattle sector in the EU.