The implications of climate change for Veterinary Services

Climate change due to increasing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is one of the most pressing issues facing society on a global scale. The growth of GHG emissions between 2000 and 2010 was higher than in each of the previous three decades, and each of the past four decades has been successively warmer than any preceding decades since 1850. Continued GHG emissions will cause further warming and changes in the climate system. Climate change affects livestock production in multiple ways, both directly and indirectly. Many of the impacts on the livestock sector result from increasing frequency and magnitude of weather and climate extremes such as droughts, flash floods, untimely rains, frost, hail and severe storms. This article describes some of the most vulnerable disaster communities in Asia, Africa, Australia, Europe and South America. It then describes the importance of meteorological information provided by national Meteorological and Hydrological Services to help Veterinary Services support sustainable management of livestock in vulnerable pastoral communities.