Consider the following statements about temperature inversion:

I. This happens when normal lapse rate gets inverted.

II. Winter nights with cloudy skies are conducive for temperature inversion.

III. Polar areas experience inversion throughout the year.A.I and II onlyB.II and III onlyC.I and III onlyD.I, II and III

Question

Consider the following statements about temperature inversion: I. This happens when normal lapse rate gets inverted. II. Winter nights with cloudy skies are conducive for temperature inversion. III. Polar areas experience inversion throughout the year.

Accepted Answer

I and III only. Statement I is correct. Temperature normally falls as height increases, a pattern called the lapse rate. Temperature inversion is exactly this pattern flipping, so temperature rises with height near the surface instead. Statement II is wrong. It is clear skies, not cloudy skies, that favour inversion on winter nights. Under a clear sky, the ground loses heat quickly into space, so the air just above it cools fast. Clouds actually trap this outgoing heat, which stops the ground from cooling enough for inversion. Statement III is correct. Polar regions stay so cold and receive so little direct sunlight that their surface air layer is inverted for most of the year, not just in winter. So statements I and III hold true, but II does not, making option (c) the answer.

Consider the following statements about temperature inversion: I. This happens when normal lapse rate gets inverted. II. Winter nights with cloudy skies are conducive for temperature inversion. III. Polar areas experience inversion throughout the year.

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