Learn About Temperature Inversion

 

About Temperature Inversion

Albuquerque has a low average humidity, little cloud cover, and is located in a valley. This combination encourages the formation of what is called a temperature inversion.

A temperature inversion occurs when a layer of warmer air forms between two layers of cooler air, preventing the lower layer of cool air from mixing with air above it.

Many factors can influence the formation of an inversion layer, including:

1. Daylight ground temperatures are below freezing (32 F) all day.
2. Evening temperatures are in the low teens to single digit Fahrenheit.
3. Clear skies at night.
4. Ground level winds are below 1 or 2 mph throughout the day and night.

A temperature inversion traps ground level ozone and other pollutants beneath it, forming a haze of smog over the city.