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You are in: Weather > SA regional > Ecucation  INVERSION LAYERS A surface inversion layer is a layer within the first 1500m of the atmosphere. It occurs when a air within a high pressure descends and as it descends, it warms the atmosphere, much like a bicycle pump warms up when you pump up a wheel. When air is compressed it will warm up. As the air descends from heights of about 12km it will warm and the warmest air will be found at this inversion layer which can be several meters thick. The air temperature then cools towards the surface.
So if one had to move from the surface of the earth when an inversion was present, you would notice that the air warms as you ascend and it will become warmer until you reach the inversion layer when it will start cooling again.
The photograph below was taken by myself on Sunday 3 November 1985 in Constantia, Cape Town looking towards the NE at around 15:30. Large convective cumulonimbus clouds had built up during the day over the Boland mountains, but were severely restricted in their upwards growth by a very strong inversion, probably at about 2000m. This can be clearly seen from the very flat tops of the two massive clouds.
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ALEXANDER BAY 24/16 ALLDAYS 34/22 BEAUFORT WEST 27/14 BELA-BELA 31/20 BETHLEHEM 24/14 BISHO 19/16 BLOEMFONTEIN 25/16 CALVINIA 31/17 CAPE ST LUCIA 27/24 CAPE TOWN 34/20 CLANWILLIAM 42/24 DE AAR 25/19 DURBAN 31/22 EAST LONDON 22/20 ERMELO 26/12 FAURESMITH 25/17 FICKSBURG 25/18 GEORGE 24/17 GRAAF-REINETT 21/12 GRAHAMSTOWN 25/13 HERMANUS 28/17 JOHANNESBURG 28/16 JOUBERTINA 19/16 KIMBERLEY 24/19 KLERKSDORP 32/19 KOMATIPOORT 26/20 KROONSTAD 29/17 LADYSMITH 29/19 LANGEBAAN 26/21 LEPHALALE 34/20 LYDENBURG 26/14 MAFIKENG 29/16 MUSINA 31/21 NELSPRUIT 27/19 NEWCASTLE 32/19 OUDTSHOORN 29/17 PAARL 36/21 PHALABORWA 30/22 PIETERMARITZBURG 30/17 PLETTENBERG BAY 21/16 POLOKWANE 30/14 PORT ALFRED 21/17 PORT ELIZABETH 19/16 PORT ST JOHNS 27/21 POTCHEFSTROOM 33/18 PRETORIA 29/17 QUEENSTOWN 22/16 RICHARDS BAY 33/23 ROBERTSON 34/15 RUSTENBURG 32/19 SASOLBURG 32/16 SKUKUZA 32/20 SOWETO 28/17 SPRINGBOK 31/20 STILBAAI 23/16 SUTHERLAND 25/12 TZANEEN 29/19 ULUNDI 33/19 UMTATA 22/19 UPINGTON 27/20 VEREENIGING 30/16 VREDENDAL 25/20 VRYBURG 26/19 WELKOM 28/17 WITBANK 26/12 WORCESTER 35/17 |
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Inversion conditions usually suppress any
convective development and usually very stable
conditions occur with inversion conditions.
Inversion layers occur throughout summer over
CT. They also occur in winter on fine cold
mornings when most of the smog is trapped within
the lowest 200m above the ground.