The Max Planck Institute for Meteorology (MPI-M) in Hamburg is one of the world’s leading institutions for climate and Earth system research. Its scientists seek to understand the processes that shape the Earth’s climate and their interactions across the atmosphere, ocean, land and cryosphere. The institute combines the development of fundamental theory with observations and numerical modelling, and regularly leads major international field campaigns to investigate key processes in the climate system. MPI-M also develops advanced Earth system models, including the ICON modelling framework, and has pioneered the development and use of global kilometre-scale climate modelling. By bringing together theory, observations and simulations across a wide range of scales, MPI-M advances the understanding of the physical climate system and its response to change.