„Clouds control climate and precipitation.
They fascinate me because they show the dynamics of our atmosphere.”

Prof. Thomas Leisner
Institute for Meteorology and Climate Research – Atmospheric Aerosol Research

Its physico-chemical self-cleaning power prevents life from being poisoned by gaseous pollutants. This results in the following challenges in the topic “Atmosphere and Climate”:

1. The monitoring and documentation of changes in atmospheric composition at different temporal and spatial scales.
2. Deepening the quantitative understanding of the atmospheric processes that underlie climate events, the atmospheric water cycle and air quality.
3. Translating these insights into improved and regionally adapted forecasts for decision makers and stakeholders. The forecast horizon ranges from a few hours (severe weather warnings) to decades (climate forecasts).