23 July 2026, by Franziska Neigenfind

Photo: ESRAH/UHH

Social justice for climate-friendly urban traffic, predicting extreme heat in the Mediterranean, and AI in climate research – these are the topics of the final papers recognized with the Young Climate Scientists Award 2026. From among a host of high-caliber submissions from various disciplines, the jury ultimately selected three particularly innovative and excellent papers. “I wish to congratulate Charlotte Bohne and Jeanette Müller on jointly taking home first place and Sebastian Willmann on winning second place,” said ESRAH Director Prof. Grischa Perino. “I was impressed with their ideas and their level of academic maturity. They drew on software engineering expertise to refine the next generation of climate services, reviewed climate models from an extraordinarily broad interdisciplinary perspective, and combined concepts of social justice with a rigorously empirical research approach, respectively.”

More precise forecasts for extreme heat in the Mediterranean
In her master’s thesis, climate researcher Charlotte Bohne focused on interactions between the land and atmosphere in the Mediterranean and how they influence the predictability of extreme heat on a seasonal scale – that is, in a timeframe of up to 12 months. She analyzed how soil moisture and evaporation affect temperatures, and can in turn contribute to the formation and intensification of summer heatwaves. To do so, she applied a seasonal forecasting model and compared it with reanalysis data – which combines observations and model-based data – to gauge how precisely these interactions were reflected. Her conclusion: that generally speaking, the model accurately captured them. However, she also discovered a systematic error in the model, which causes it to unrealistically simulate the speed of soil drying. Her paper confirms that soil moisture can be used as an early-warning signal for periods of extreme heat, although there are certain regional differences: the connection is especially strong on the Iberian Peninsula but less pronounced in the Balkans. As such, the master’s thesis identifies those regions of the Mediterranean in which soil moisture can serve as an early-warning signal for extreme heat, and where seasonal forecasting models still need to be improved in order to tap this potential in other parts of the region.

“The paper’s outstanding quality can be seen both in its academic depth regarding the nature of climate dynamics and in the breadth of interdisciplinary interactions between soil moisture, the evaporation of water from the soil and plants, and temperature,” said the jury. “By combining extensive re-analyses, model-based simulation data and a clear diagnostic structure, Charlotte Bohne has delivered groundbreaking findings – also for future research – on the predictability of extreme heat for the Iberian Peninsula and the Balkans.”

How just is bicycle traffic planning in German cities?
Bicycle traffic is considered an important component of the climate transition. But do all levels of society benefit from it equally? In her master’s thesis, sociologist Jeanette Müller investigated whether urban bicycle traffic is truly as socially just as is often assumed. To do so, she assessed a range of measures and factors in Münster, Bonn and Braunschweig: the expansion of the bicycle path network, traffic safety, making cycling infrastructure more appealing, cycle parking and locking facilities, citizen information and participation, and financial incentives for cargo cycles and cycle trailers. She developed her own assessment design, analyzed planning documents, and spoke with the officials responsible for cycling traffic in the three cities. The jury praised her innovative combination of an advanced social philosophy-based framework and precise empirical analysis.

Her findings show that the measures taken to date inadequately reduce existing social and spatial inequalities and in fact tend to propagate them: the infrastructure, participation and information are often only available to privileged groups. There are also shortcomings in terms of financial support for disadvantaged groups. For these citizens, the minimum requirements for social justice have not been met, as they can’t afford bicycles and they face higher obstacles when it comes to learning how to ride one. “The paper represents an essential contribution to the current debate on climate policy, as it impressively demonstrates that an effective and socially just mobility transition cannot be achieved by expanding the cycling infrastructure alone; it also take planning that is explicitly socially just,” the jury concluded.

New chatbot FrevaGPT: An intelligent solution for climate research
In his bachelor’s thesis, IT student Sebastian Willmann developed an innovative technology for climate research. To do so, he combined large language models (LLMs) with standardized climate data to facilitate rapid and reliable analyses. His new system, FrevaGPT, especially stands out for its dialogue-based virtual assistant function: researchers can pose complex questions on climate data analysis using natural language; in response, the system generates corresponding code snippets (small units of code). Here the focus is on reliability: instead of providing direct but potentially imprecise answers or even hallucinations, FrevaGPT delivers a straightforward code that users can read, review, and if necessary adapt. This accelerates analytic processes, while also preserving the monitoring and transparency of individual research steps.

A special achievement on the part of Sebastian Willmann: the integration of his system in the infrastructure of the German Climate Computing Center (DKRZ) and the development of its backend architecture. In this regard, the goal is to offer not just climate researchers, but also stakeholders and service providers support with using the system. As the jury underscored: “Accordingly, the paper shows how artificial intelligence can enrich climate research and its benefits for society.”