Hottest July on Record Kills Hundreds of Cows – By Angely Mercado (Gizmodo) / Aug 8, 2023
July set heat records nationwide and internationally, creating dangerous conditions for people and animals.
Alarming heat and humidity killed hundreds of cows in Iowa last month. These losses have further decreased the size of the overall U.S. cattle herd, which has shrunk to a more than 50-year low. The Department of Natural Resources in Iowa told Reuters that it had received a much higher than normal number of body disposal requests, including one on July 31 “to dispose of approximately 370 cows that died due to heat in western Iowa recently.”
The cattle deaths were tragic, but sadly not surprising—July was an especially hot month everywhere. About 80% of the world’s population experienced temperatures that wouldn’t have been possible without the climate crisis. Much of the U.S., boiled under a series of consecutive heat waves, particularly Arizona. Iowa experienced multiple bouts of alarmingly hot weather. Counties throughout the state saw heat advisories in late July after heat and humidity rose heat indices higher than 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.7 Celsius), according to the Des Moines NWS station. The average global temperature reached new heights then broke its own record the following day in early July.
Larger, heavier cows—are around 1,000 pounds—are more likely to die from heat stress. Even still, July’s heat reached such extremes that even lighter cattle—roughly 700 pounds—were also growing sick and dying. Workers also reported concerning cow deaths in nearby Nebraska and Kansas last month too, though agriculture agencies’ exact tallies have yet to come in.
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