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SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/sport-temperature-inversion

Air temperature that rises with altitude, instead of falling, is called what?

A temperature inversion.

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  1. A lapse rate
  2. A temperature inversion ✔
  3. A dew point spread

Why: Normally air gets cooler as you climb. When the temperature instead rises with altitude, an inversion exists, and it can trap smoke, haze and fog near the ground.

Huh, didn't know that: The standard lapse rate is about 2 degrees Celsius of cooling for every 1,000 feet of climb.

The dad joke
An inversion is when the weather says, 'Let's do everything upside down today.'
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References

Answer: A temperature inversion. Normally air gets cooler as you climb. When the temperature instead rises with altitude, an inversion exists, and it can trap smoke, haze and fog near the ground.

  1. FAA Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge, Chapter 12 www.faa.gov/sites/faa.gov/files/14_phak_ch12.pdf
    temperature inversion exists.
    Checked 2026-10-11.
  2. FAA Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge, Chapter 12 www.faa.gov/sites/faa.gov/files/14_phak_ch12.pdf
    temperature decreases at a rate of about 2 °Celsius (C) every
    Checked 2026-10-11.

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