Safeguarding Livestock Production during El Niño years

2026 is an El Niño year. The term El Niño refers to warming of the ocean surface in the central and eastern tropical Pacific ocean. The El Niño is generally accompanied by low atmospheric pressure (called Southern Oscillation) over the central and eastern tropical Pacific ocean. The low pressure system or anomalously warm sea surface temperatures over the central and eastern tropical Pacific ocean reduces the strength of southwest monsoon winds, leading to less moisture transport toward India. The livestock sector can face effects such as incidence of heat stress in animals, shortage of feed and water, reduction in fertility and disease resistance of animals, increase in overall cost of production and market disruptions. The negative effects can be overcome by following appropriate measures such as undertaking hay and silage production, storing crop residues for livestock feeding, enrichment of straw with urea, construction of farm ponds to harvest and store rainwater, and strategic culling of low-producing or non-productive animals etc., It can be concluded that the negative impact caused by the El Niño on livestock sector can be minimised by practicing appropriate proactive measures.