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meteorological inversion
Sign in to saveAlso known as temperature inversion, inversion
deviation from the normal change of an atmospheric property with altitude
A meteorological inversion is when the atmosphere behaves differently than usual—for example, when temperature increases with altitude instead of decreasing as it normally does. This unusual condition matters because it can trap air and pollutants near the ground, affecting air quality and weather patterns.
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Temperature inversion in an urban environment Temperature inversion in the Lake District, England, forms clouds at a low level under clearer air. Ice fog caused by a temperature inversion in downtown Fairbanks, Alaska in January 2025. Smoke rising in Lochcarron, Scotland, is stopped by an overlying layer of warmer air (2006). Smog trapped over the city of Almaty, Kazakhstan during a temperature inversion. Smoke-filled canyons in northern Arizona, 2019. During morning and evening hours, dense smoke often settles in low-lying areas and becomes trapped due to temperature inversions—when a layer within the lower atmosphere acts as a lid and prevents vertical mixing of the air. Steep canyon walls act as a horizontal barrier, concentrating the smoke within the deepest parts of the canyon and increasing the strength of the inversion.
In meteorology, an inversion (or temperature inversion) is a phenomenon in which a layer of warmer air overlies cooler air. Normally, air temperature gradually decreases as altitude increases, but this relationship is reversed in an inversion.