OpinionOpen Access

Thermal Indices and Heat stress Assessment in Livestock: Way Forward

Volume 3 - Issue 1

**V Sejian*¹, G Krishnan¹ and JP Amitha²**

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- ¹ICAR-National Institute of Animal Nutrition and Physiology, India
- ²Academy of Climate Change Education and Research, Kerala Agricultural University, India
*Corresponding author: V Sejian, ICAR-National Institute of Animal Nutrition and Physiology, Hosur Road, Bangalore, India

Received: February 28, 2018; Published: March 09, 2018

DOI: 10.26717/BJSTR.2018.03.000839

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Abstract

In the changing climate scenario, heat stress is the most detrimental factor which negatively influences livestock production. This may lead to severe economic consequences in livestock industry. The negative impacts of high temperature stress are generally aggravated when it is coupled with high relative humidity. Every animal produce optimally under its own thermoneutral zone. Different factors of climate such as air temperature, humidity, wind velocity, and solar radiation have prominent effect in influencing the homeostasis in animals. The interaction of these climate variables and the animal biological system lead to drastic changes in the production performance of the animal. This has paved the way for the scientific community to look for a range of thermal indices to specific locations to quantify heat stress response in livestock.

Abbreviations: THI: Temperature Humidity Index; ETI: Equivalent Temperature Index; IRTCI: Integrated Relative Thermal-Comfort Index; HLI: Heat Load Index; AHL: Accumulated Heat Load Index; CCI: Comprehensive Climate Index; RH: Relative Humidity; WS: Wind Speed; Rad: Solar Radiation; Ta: Ambient Temperature