European MSCA Doctoral Network PhD Position at KIT “Impacts and risks from recurrent dro

Offer Description

The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) is a distinguished research university that combines three core tasks – research, education and innovation – into a single mission. With 9,300 employees and almost 25,000 students, it is one of the largest institutions of research and higher education in natural sciences and engineering in Europe. KIT was awarded the title "University of Excellence" within the German Excellence Strategy launched by the federal and state governments on 19 July 2019.

In the area of Atmospheric Science, KIT is ranked #1 in Germany by the Shanghai Ranking.

The Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research - Troposphere Research (IMKTRO) participates in the KIT Centers "Climate and Environment" and "MathSEE (Mathematics in Sciences, Engineering, and Economics)" and contributes significantly to the program "Changing Earth" of the Helmholtz Association. Our Working Group "Regional Climate and Weather Hazards" (http://(Use the "Apply for this Job" box below). ) focusses on an integrated analysis of extreme weather and climate events, regional climate change, climate variability and risk assessment.

We have an open 3-year PhD position in the Doctoral Network project: “Understanding and Predicting Impacts of Climate Extremes under Global Change”, funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement (MSCA) No. , which is expected to start on 1st March 2026. The project’s international consortium is coordinated by Uppsala University. More information on the project can be found at: https://

. You will be part of a leading cohort of early‑career researchers studying different aspects of the impacts of climate extremes in Europe, from public health to societal perspectives and agricultural impacts, and will have access to a rich program of training activities and research exchanges. These are designed to enhance your career prospects in both academia and the private sector.

PhD Project 1: Drought events are amongst the most impacting natural hazards worldwide. Recurrent (temporally compounding) drought events may lead to magnified negative impacts such as an increasing competition between different water‑using sectors. Ongoing climate change adds another level of complexity, as droughts are projected to occur more frequently, last longer and be more severe in many parts of Europe, leading to recurrent or multi‑year events.

The scientific objectives are: (i) identification of sectors and European regions with high vulnerability to (recurrent) drought events under present climate conditions based on insurance loss data; (ii) Development and application of tailored hydroclimatic indices to quantify the impacts of (recurrent) droughts in different sectors; (iii) Investigation how the risk of recurrent droughts will change for different global warming levels (e.g. for 2 °C and 3 °C);

(iv) Identification of potential critical thresholds leading to amplified impacts when integrating vulnerability and exposure into the analyses (e.g. population, crops, infrastructure, insurance assets). The Ph.

D. student will not only work with the latest observational datasets and insurance loss data but also with state‑of‑the‑art climate model simulations.

You will be based in Karlsruhe, Germany. As part of your duties, you will be required to complete two in‑person international secondments and attend in‑person international meetings.

Applicants should fulfil the following requirements:

• In accordance with MSCA rules, applicants must not have resided and not have carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Germany for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately before the recruitment date – unless as part of a procedure for obtaining refugee status under the Geneva Convention (MSCA DN Mobility Rule).
• The applicant must hold a Master’s or corresponding degree in Climate Science, Earth Sciences, Physics, Mathematics, Meteorology, or related disciplines preferably obtained no later than one month before starting date.
• The applicant must be proficient in spoken and written English.
• The…