Dr. Kelley De Polt
Main Focus
Dr. Kelley De Polt is a postdoctoral researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry (MPI-BGC) with a joint appointment in the Biodiversity, Ecosystem, and Society independent research group and the Department of Biogeochemical Integration. Her current work focuses on early warning systems and the interactions between climate and socio-ecological systems.
Latest Updates
• September 2026: Kelley successfully defended her PhD thesis, Hot Topics: Comparison and Interaction of Heatwave-related Societal Responses and Public Health Impacts, at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
• Since June 2026: Kelley serves as Sub-Programme Group Scientific Officer for GS6 (Geoscience, Risk & Decision-Making) within EGU Geoscience & Society (GS).
• Since March 2026: Kelley is guest editor of the special issue "Early Warning Systems from Research to Operations: Status, Innovations and Multi-Hazard Applications" in the EGU journal Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences (NHESS). Find more information and submit your work [here].
Curriculum Vitae
Professional Positions
• Postdoctoral Researcher, Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany (since 01/2026)
• Doctoral Researcher, Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany (01/2022 - 01/2026)
• Graduate Research Assistant, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA (01/2020 - 12/2021)
• Graduate Research Assistant, North Carolina Institute for Climate Studies, Asheville, North Carolina, USA (05/2021 - 12/2021)
• Undergraduate Research Assistant, State Climate Office of North Carolina, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA (05/2016 - 12/2019)
Education
• Ph.D., Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM), Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands (01/2022 - 09/2026). Thesis: Hot Topics: Comparison and Interaction of Heatwave-related Societal Responses and Public Health Impacts
• M.Sc. Geography; Master's Certificate Equivalence in GIS, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA (01/2020 - 12/2021). Thesis: Analyzing drivers of compound coastal water events (CCWE) with copulas: A case study in eastern North Carolina
• B.Sc. Meteorology; Minor in Computer Programming, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA (08/2015 - 12/2019)
Service
• Sub-Programme Group Scientific Officer, European Geosciences Union (EGU), Geoscience & Society (GS), GS6: Geoscience, Risk & Decision-Making (since 06/2026)
• Guest Editor, Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences special issue "Early Warning Systems from Research to Operations: Status, Innovations and Multi-Hazard Applications" (since 03/2026)
• Co-lead, RiskKAN Working Group on AI for Complex Climate Risk Mitigation
• Early Career Research Board Chair, MYRIAD-EU
Publications
Peer-reviewed articles
2026
Santos, A. P., De Angeli, S., Hanf, F. S., ..., De Polt, K., Šakić Trogrlić, R., & van den Homberg, M. (2026). Workshop report: Vulnerability in multi-hazard risks: addressing its complexity and dynamics. iScience, 29(4), 115250. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2026.115250
Tiggeloven, T., Raymond, C., de Ruiter, M. C., ..., De Polt, K., ..., & Ward, P. J. (2026). Multi-hazard risk assessment and management: pathways for the Sendai Framework and beyond. Geoscience Communication, 9, 185–221. https://doi.org/10.5194/gc-9-185-2026
Ward, P. J., Buijs, S. L., Ciurean, R., ..., De Polt, K., ..., & Stolte, T. (2026). Reducing risk together: moving towards a more holistic approach to multi-hazard and multi-risk assessment and management. Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, 26(3), 1325–1345. https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-26-1325-2026
Schlumberger, J.*, De Polt, K.*, Claassen, J. N., Tiggeloven, T., Buijs, S. L., de Ruiter, M. C., Gargiulo, M. V., Gill, J. C., Pantaleoni Reluy, N., Šakić Trogrlić, R., & Ward, P. J. (2026). Empowering ECRs to make research projects flourish: lessons from a European research project. Open Research Europe, 5, 312. https://doi.org/10.12688/openreseurope.21517.3 (*equal contribution)
2025
Leeper, R. D., Harrington, T., Palecki, M. A., De Polt, K., Scott, E., Runkle, J. D., & Diamond, H. J. (2025). The Influence of Drought on Heat Wave Intensity, Duration, and Exposure. Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, 64(5), 425–438. https://doi.org/10.1175/JAMC-D-24-0072.1
Uckan, Y., Ruiz-Vásquez, M., De Polt, K., & Orth, R. (2025). Global relevance of atmospheric and land surface drivers for hot temperature extremes. Earth System Dynamics, 16(3), 869–889. https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-16-869-2025
2024
Bogdanovich, E., Brenning, A., Reichstein, M., De Polt, K., Guenther, L., Frank, D., & Orth, R. (2024). Official heat warnings miss situations with a detectable societal heat response in European countries. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 100, 104206. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2023.104206
Sewell, K., Paul, S., De Polt, K., Sugg, M. M., Leeper, R. D., Rao, D., & Runkle, J. D. (2024). Impacts of compounding drought and heatwave events on child mental health: insights from a spatial clustering analysis. Discover Mental Health, 4(1). https://doi.org/10.1007/s44192-023-00055-0
2023
De Polt, K., Ward, P. J., de Ruiter, M. C., Bogdanovich, E., Reichstein, M., Frank, D., & Orth, R. (2023). Quantifying impact-relevant heatwave durations. Environmental Research Letters, 18, 104005. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/acf05e
2021
Curtis, S., De Polt, K., Kruse, J., Mukherji, A., Helgeson, J., Ghosh, A., & Van Wagoner, P. (2021). Spatially Compounded Surge Events: An Example from Hurricanes Matthew and Florence. Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, 21(6), 1759–1767. https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-21-1759-2021
2020
Chappell, T., Ward, R., De Polt, K., Roberts, P., Greene, J., & Kennedy, G. (2020). Thrips Infestation Predictor: A practical tool for predicting tobacco thrips (Frankliniella fusca) infestation of cotton seedlings in the southeastern United States. Pest Management Science, 76(12), 4018–4028. https://doi.org/10.1002/ps.5954
Preprints
Bogdanovich, E., Schäfer, M. S., Brenning, A., De Polt, K., Guenther, L., Reichstein, M., & Orth, R. (2026). How media portrays temperature extremes: Increased coverage, more negative sentiment, and fewer mentions of climate change. ESS Open Archive. https://doi.org/10.22541/essoar.15004536/v1
Science communication
De Polt, K., Claassen, J. N., Buijs, S. L., Reluy, N. P., Schlumberger, J., & Ramalingam, N. R. (2025). How can we encourage and empower Early Career Researchers? Reflections on a short course held at EGU 2025. EGU Blogs, Natural Hazards Division. https://blogs.egu.eu/divisions/nh/2025/11/17/how-can-we-encourage-and-empower-early-career-researchers-reflections-on-a-short-course-held-at-egu-2025/
De Polt, K. (2024). How Can We Redefine Natural Hazards Through Societal and Health Responses? Latest Thinking. https://doi.org/10.21036/LTPUB101203
de Ruiter, M., Jäger, W., Buijs, S. L., ..., De Polt, K., ..., & Šakić Trogrlić, R. (2024). Research brief: Revolutionising Multi-Hazard Risk Assessment: Innovative Methods for a Safer Tomorrow. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.12750119
De Polt, K., Ward, P., de Ruiter, M., Bogdanovich, E., Reichstein, M., Frank, D., & Orth, R. (2023). Research brief: Impact-relevant climate hazard durations. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.12749059