Some times air temperature increases with increasing height in troposphere. This is known as ‘Inversion of temperature’ the suitable conditions for inversion of temperature is as follows-
(a) Long Winter Nights: The loss of heat by terrestrial radiation exceeds the amount of insolation received from the sun during long winter nights.
(b) Cloudless and clear sky: A clear sky causes rapid loss of hear through terrestrial radiation.
(c) Dry air: The dry air present near earth’* surface is not capable of absorbing much of the heat. Hence the temperature at lower layer does not rise.
(d) Calm atmosphere: When there is no-movement of air or it is very little, there is no transfer and mixing of hear in the lower layers of the atmosphere.
(e) Snow covered surface: When the ground is covered by snow, and there is a reflection of incoming solar radiation the ground heats very little. Therefore the air close to the ground undergoes rapid cooling and temperature inversion takes place.
There can be two types of inversion of temperature:
1. High-Altitude inversion: The high altitude inversion occurs mainly due to the frontal convergence, when a swarm air-mass is forced from the ground surface by the underlying of a cold air mass at a cold front. Alternatively, a similar inversion can be created when a warm air-mass overrides a colder one along with a warm front.
2. surface inversion: A surface inversion is much more localized and is often dependent on the terrain. It frequently occurs during winter anticyclonic weather when during calm cloudless nights thee is a rapid heat loss from the ground by radiation.
