Heat Stress Trends in Regions of Intensive Turkey Production in Germany—A Challenge in Times of Climate Change
Institute for Animal Hygiene, Animal Welfare and Farm Animal Behavior, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation, 30173 Hannover, Germany
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Animals 2024, 14(1), 72; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14010072
Submission received: 6 December 2023
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Revised: 21 December 2023
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Accepted: 22 December 2023
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Published: 24 December 2023
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Extreme Weather Event Impacts on Animal Health and Productivity)
Simple Summary
This study investigated heat loads determined using the parameters enthalpy and temperature–humidity index (THI). For this purpose, weather station data were used, and specified threshold exceedance in German districts with intensive turkey production was analyzed. Over a period of 50 years, increases in both parameters were observed in all districts. Most of the trends in terms of exceeding the thresholds, and thus towards heat stress, were statistically significant. Heat stress in turkeys should, therefore, not be underestimated, especially when considering ongoing global warming.
Abstract
This study analyzed trends of enthalpy and the temperature–humidity index (THI) over a period of 50 years in outer air, which lead to severe heat stress in turkeys. Weather station data from 15 German districts with high densities of turkey production were used to investigate the heat input into the barns. Therefore, the parameters of enthalpy and THI with specified thresholds were used for heat stress assessment. Trends in extreme weather situations where these thresholds were exceeded were analyzed and tested for significance using the Mann–Kendall test. In all districts, the heat load increased between 1973 and 2022 for both parameters. Statistically significant heat stress trends were found in 9 of the 15 districts for enthalpy and 14 out of 15 districts for THI. Thus, the established THI thresholds seem to be more sensitive for the detection of heat stress than the chosen enthalpy values. As heat stress is an important issue and a rising concern in times of climate change, farmers and constructors of farm animal facilities should take this into account in future sustainable work.
Keywords:
climate change; animal welfare; Turkeys; enthalpy; THI; heat stress; global warming; poultry
