The Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research (IMK) consists of four institutes, two of which are jointly operated by the KIT-Campus South (former University of Karlsruhe) and the KIT-Campus North (former Karlsruhe Research Centre). They work on atmospheric processes of the troposphere (IMKTRO) as well as of atmospheric trace gases and remote sensing (IMKASF).

A third institute, the Atmospheric Aerosol Research (IMKAAF) is jointly operated with the 'Institut für Umweltphysik' of the University of Heidelberg. Since January 2002 and with a long history of more than 60 years the Institute of Atmospheric Environment Research, former part of the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft, has become the fourth institute of the IMK as IMKIFU at KIT-Campus Alpin in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.