What do you understand by the phenomenon of temperature inversion in meteorology? How does it affect weather and the habitants of the place?

Radiation inversion

Long, clear, calm winter nights let the ground lose heat fast and chill the air above it, as over the north Indian plains.

Valley inversion

Cold dense air drains down slopes at night and pools on valley floors beneath warmer air, as in Himalayan and Alpine valleys.

Frontal and advection inversion

Warm air rides over a cold air mass at a front, or passes over a cold surface or current, as off coastal California.

Stable weather

The inversion stops air from rising, so convection, clouds and rain are suppressed and the weather stays dry and settled.

Fog and smog

Trapped moisture and pollutants cause dense winter fog in the Indo-Gangetic plain and Delhi's severe winter smog, as in London's Great Smog of 1952.

Frost and farming

Valley-floor frost damages crops, so orchards, tea gardens and settlements occupy the warmer middle slopes, the thermal belt.

Health and transport

Trapped pollutants worsen respiratory illness, while fog delays flights and trains across north India.