Andreas H. Fink

Andreas H. Fink is a Professor at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) conducting research at the Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research – Department of Tropospheric Research (IMK-TRO). His work focuses on improving heat wave predictability to mitigate health risks, agricultural damage, and economic impacts from extreme weather events.

His research encompasses:

• Defining heat waves as ≥3 consecutive days among the warmest 10% for the season (using 30-year baselines)
• Extending forecast horizons to 3 weeks through ensemble modeling and atmospheric wave analysis
• Reducing uncertainty in climate projections for Western European extreme summers
• Investigating compound extremes (heat waves + drought) like Germany's 2018/2022 events

Fink leads projects including the German Research Foundation-funded Transregio 'Waves, Clouds, Weather' collaboration with Munich and Mainz universities, utilizing high-resolution simulations to model summer thunderstorms and extreme heat scenarios. His work demonstrates that future heat waves will exceed historically observed intensities, necessitating precise forecasting for societal adaptation.

He provides regular expert commentary on climate emergencies including Antarctic tipping points (2023), Rhineland-Palatinate severe weather (2021), and European heat attribution (2019), emphasizing that 'very hot summers with many unusually warm days will become more common.'