Sufferer and cause: Indian livestock and climate change Smita Sirohi & Axel Michaelowa Received: 1 October 2004 / Accepted: 10 January 2007 / Published online: 17 March 2007 # Springer Science + Business Media B.V. 2007 Abstract Climate change poses formidable challenge to the development of livestock sector in India. The anticipated rise in temperature between 2.3 and 4.8°C over the entire country together with increased precipitation resulting from climate change is likely to aggravate the heat stress in dairy animals, adversely affecting their productive and reproductive performance, and hence reducing the total area where high yielding dairy cattle can be economically reared. Given the vulnerability of India to rise in sea level, the impact of increased intensity of extreme events on the livestock sector would be large and devastating for the low-income rural areas. The predicted negative impact of climate change on Indian agriculture would also adversely affect livestock production by aggravating the feed and fodder shortages. The livestock sector which will be a sufferer of climate change is itself a large source of methane emissions, an important greenhouse gas. In India, although the emission rate per animal is much lower than the developed countries, due to vast livestock population the total annual methane emissions are about 9–10 Tg from enteric fermentation and animal wastes. The scientific evidence of anthropogenic interference with the climate system through greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions has led to worldwide research on assessing the impacts that might result from potential climate change associated with GHG accumulation. As the ecosystems are sensitive to changes in climate, it is necessary to examine the likely impact of climate change on various sectors within the ecosystems to be able to comprehensively understand the effects of climate change. The agricultural sector has generated considerable interest in this regard and most international studies that examine the impact of climate change on this sector due to global warming conclude that in many instances agriculture will be disadvantaged (Reilly 1996; Cline 1992; Evenson 1999; Rosenzweig and Iglesias Climatic Change (2007) 85:285–298 DOI 10.1007/s10584-007-9241-8 S. Sirohi (*) Dept. of Dairy Economics, Statistics & Management, National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal, Haryana 132001, India e-mail: smitasirohi@yahoo.com A. Michaelowa International Climate Policy, Hamburg Institute of International Economics, Neuer Junfernstieg 21- 20347, Hamburg, Germany