
Dr. Ing. Husain Najafi
Postdoctoral Research Scientist
Address
Computational Hydrosystems (CHS)
Permoserstraße 15
04318 Leipzig
Building 7.1, Room 411
Phone +49 341 60251628
I am a hydrologist specializing in drought and flood forecasting. My research integrates hydrological modeling, forecasting of extreme hydrometeorological events, and impact-based risk assessment to improve disaster preparedness. My contributions were recognized with the UFZ Young Scientist Award for Applied Research in 2022. Before joining UFZ, I provided policy advice on water resource management in semi-arid regions of Southwest Asia.
I am committed to advancing scientific knowledge and practical applications, bridging the gap between research and policy in environmental science. My research on hydrological forecasting and early warning systems has recently been published in Nature Communications (Najafi et al., 2024), showcasing significant advancements in the field.
Real-Time S2S Soil Moisture Forecasting & Predictability (HS2S)
I lead the development of HS2S, a real-time subseasonal-to-seasonal (S2S) soil moisture forecasting system in Germany, which has been operational since 2021. It provides weekly real-time ensemble forecasts of Soil Moisture Inedx (SMI). HS2S uses ECMWF ENS extended meteorologic forecasts on sub-seasonal time scales . The hydrological forecasts are based on the mHM.
Impact-Based Riverine Flood Early Warning Systems for Germany (HI-CAM II)
As part of the HI-CAM II project, I develop high-resolution flood forecasting systems. Currently, I am working on an developing and testing an experimental impact-based flood warning system, integrating the Seamless Integrated Forecasting System (SINFONY) from DWD with mHM. In addition, the system uses real-time ECMWF ensemble forecasts for selected catchments in Germany to show uncertainties of atmospheric forecasts.
Selected Publications
Najafi, H., Shrestha, P.K., Rakovec, O. et al. High-resolution impact-based early warning system for riverine flooding. Nat Commun 15, 3726 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-48065-y
Santos, V. M., Casas-Prat, M., Poschlod, B., Ragno, E., Van Den Hurk, B., Hao, Z., Kalmár, T., Zhu, L., & Najafi, H. (2021). Statistical modelling and climate variability of compound surge and precipitation events in a managed water system: A case study in the Netherlands. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 25(6), 3595-3615. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-3595-2021