Compiled by Vineet Thaploo

As already discussed, temperature decreases with increase in altitude. In normal conditions, as we go

up, temperature decreases with normal lapse rate. It is 6.5°C per 1,000 m. Against this normal rule
sometimes, instead of decreasing, temperature may rise with the height gained. The cooler air is
nearer the earth and the warmer air is aloft. This rise of temperature with height is known as
Temperature inversion. Temperature inversion takes place under certain specific conditions. These
are discussed below:

 Long winter nights - if in winters the sky is clear during long nights, the terrestrial radiation is
accelerated. The reason is that the land surface gets cooled fairly quickly. The bottom layer of
atmosphere in contact with the ground is also cooled and the upper layer remains relatively
warm.

 Cloudless clear sky - The clouds obstruct the terrestrial radiation. But this radiation does not
face any obstacles for being reflected into space when the sky is clear. Therefore the ground is
cooled quickly and so is the air in contact with it cooled.

Figure 10 - temperature inversion

GEOGRAPHY 1
TEMPERATURE INVERSION

 Dry air - humid air absorbs the terrestrial radiation but dry air is no obstruction to terrestrial
radiation and allows the radiation to escape into space.

 Calm atmosphere - the blowing of winds bring warm and cold air into contact. Under
conditions of calm atmosphere the cold air stays put near the ground.

 Ice covered surface - in ice covered areas due to high albedo less insolation is received. During
night due to terrestrial radiation most of the heat is lost to atmosphere and the surface is
cooled. The air in contact with it is also cooled but the upper layer remains warm.

The stability of the night time temperature inversion is usually destroyed soon after sunrise as
the sun's energy warms the ground, which warms the air in the inversion layer. The warmer, less
dense air then rises, destroying the stability that characterizes the nightly inversion. The
phenomenon of inversion of temperature is especially observed in valleys. During winters the
mountain slopes cool very rapidly due to the quick radiation of heat. The air resting above them also
becomes cold and its density increases. Hence, it moves down the slopes and settles down in the
valleys. This air pushes the comparatively warmer air of valleys upwards and leads to the
phenomenon of inversion of temperature. That is why, apple orchids in Himalayan region, tea garden
of Darjeeling are found in upper slopes of the valleys.

NOTE
Temperature Inversion in
Intermontane Valley (Air Drainage
Type of Inversion)
 Sometimes, the temperature in the
lower layers of air increases instead
of decreasing with elevation. This
happens commonly along a sloping
surface.
 Here, the surface radiates heat back
to space rapidly and cools down at a
faster rate than the upper layers. As a
result the lower cold layers get
condensed and become heavy.
 The sloping surface
underneath makes
them move towards the
bottom where the cold
layer settles down as a
zone of low
temperature while the
upper layers are
relatively warmer.
 This condition, opposite
to normal vertical
distribution of
temperature, is known
as Temperature
Inversion.
 In other words, the vertical temperature gets inverted during temp erature inversion.
 This kind of temperature inversion is very strong in the middle and higher latitudes. It can be strong in
regions with high mountains or deep valleys also.

GEOGRAPHY 2
TEMPERATURE INVERSION

Subsidence Inversion (Upper Surface Temperature

Inversion)
Note: This will be covered in Pressure Belt Topic.

 A subsidence inversion develops when a widespread

layer of air descends.
 The layer is compressed and heated by the resulting
increase in atmospheric pressure, and as a result the
lapse rate of temperature is reduced.
 If the air mass sinks low enough, the air at higher altitudes becomes warmer than at lower
altitudes, producing a temperature inversion.
 Subsidence inversions are common over the northern continents in winter (dry atmosphere)
and over the subtropical oceans; these regions generally have subsiding air because they are
located under large high-pressure centers.
 This temperature inversion is called upper surface temperature inversion because it takes place
in the upper parts of the atmosphere.

Frontal Inversion (Advectional type of

Temperature Inversion )

 A frontal inversion occurs when a cold air

mass undercuts a warm air mass (Cold
and Warm Fronts: we will study in detail
later) and lifts it aloft; the front between
the two air masses then has warm air
above and cold air below.
 This kind of inversion has considerable
slope, whereas other inversions are
nearly horizontal. In addition, humidity may be high, and clouds may be present immediately
above it.
 This types of inversion is unstable and is destroyed as the weather changes.

Effect on Humans:

 In cities, impurities present in the atmosphere such as smoke, dust particles and other
pollutants do not go up in the air due to temperature inversion. They form dense fog near the
earth's surface, especially in winters. It causes problems in breathing. Frost formed may be
harmful for crops in fields.

 At some places, people lit fire or use big blowers to mix hot and cold air in order to drain off the
area of the adverse conditions created by temperature inversion.

 In valleys people make terraced fields in the upper slopes and also settle down there.

 Inversions play an important role in determining cloud forms, precipitation, and visibility.

GEOGRAPHY 3
TEMPERATURE INVERSION

 An inversion acts as a cap on the upward movement of air from the layers below. As a result,
convection produced by the heating of air from below is limited to levels below the
inversion. Diffusion of dust, smoke, and other air pollutants is likewise limited.

 In regions where a pronounced low-level inversion is present, convective clouds cannot grow
high enough to produce showers.

 Visibility may be greatly reduced below the inversion due to the accumulation of dust and
smoke particles. Because air near the base of an inversion tends to be cool, fog is frequently
present there.

 Inversions also affect diurnal variations in temperature. Diurnal variations tend to be

very small.

Temperature Ranges

Temperature of a place varies within a day and also differs in different seasons. Range of temperature
is the difference between maximum and minimum temperatures. There are two terms which are
used to consider temperature ranges.

1. Diurnal range of temperature - the daily pattern of temperature change that we normally
experience illustrates energy changes on a small time scale. On a calm day with little cloud, air
temperatures usually reach their minimum just before sunrise, because the ground has been
giving off long-wave radiation all through the night, gradually becoming colder and cooling the
air above by conduction. With sunrise, temperature of the ground begins to rise. Maximum
insolation receives at midday. But the peak of air temperature is usually about 2:00 PM.
After sun-set, the air initially remains fairly warm as it is still being heated by long-wave
radiation from the ground, but this gradually expires. Desert areas typically have the greatest
diurnal temperature variations while Low lying, humid areas typically have the least range.

2. Annual average range of temperature - it is the monthly range of temperature or the

difference between the average temperature of hottest month and average temperature
of the coldest month of the year. The annual range is lower in low latitudes and higher in high
latitudes. In the same latitudes, it is higher over the continents and lower over the oceans and
coastal regions. The highest annual range of temperature is more than 60°C over the north-
eastern part of Eurasian continent. This is due to continentality. The least range of temperature,
3°C, is found between 20°S and 15°N.

GEOGRAPHY 4