Abstract
Climate change significantly undermines livestock productivity worldwide, with profound implications for milk production. Unprecedented climatic changes indiscriminately affect the dairy production across the global south with profound effects on the Trans-Gangetic plains, especially the high milk production tract of Haryana. Hence, this study employs panel data analysis to assess the impact of climatic variables, including annual minimum, maximum, and mean temperatures, heavy rainfall incidence, temperature-humidity index (THI), and potential evapotranspiration (PET) on milk yield and production in buffalo (Bubalus bubalis), indigenous cattle (Bos indicus), and crossbred cattle (Bos taurus × Bos indicus) in Haryana, India, from 2004 to 2019. The study was based on data spanning 16 years of Integrated Sample Survey in Haryana, adopting a stratified three-stage sampling design (districts → villages/households → animals) with complete livestock population enumeration. Annually, 1,148 villages were surveyed for recording milk yield and milk production. Crossbred cattle, indigenous cattle and buffalo had daily milk yields of 8.08, 5.23 and 7.64 kg/day with annual production of 788.24, 338.81 and 6045.02 MT, respectively. The yearly population estimates based on complete enumeration, viz., indigenous cattle (n₁ = 0.179 million), crossbred cattle (n₂ = 0.291 million), and buffalo (n₃ = 2.22 million). The findings reveal that high temperatures (> 38 °C) combined with elevated humidity (> 70%) during July and August significantly reduce milk production, whereas winter temperatures exhibit negligible effects. Notably, PET (p < 0.01 for May and June across all species) emerges as a critical climatic indicator alongside THI and heatwaves, necessitating its integration with solar radiation, ambient temperature, and vapour pressure in climate impact assessments. These results underscore PET’s role in shaping adaptive strategies for sustainable livestock production amid global warming.
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Acknowledgements
The authors are thankful to the Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Government of Haryana, India, for providing milk production data. The authors are also grateful to the Director, ICAR-National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal for providing the required facilities to conduct the study.
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Yadav, R., Maiti, S., Garai, S. et al. Effect of climate change on milk production and yield of buffalo, indigenous cattle and crossbred cattle in Haryana, India.
Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-58067-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-58067-z
Keywords
- Buffalo
- Cattle
- Milk production
- Milk yield
- Panel data
- Impacts
- Changing climate
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