thermal inversion

Behavior of temperature contrary to what is expected when ascending through the troposphere. While normally it decreases with height, in areas where there is a thermal inversion, temperature increases or remains constant as altitude increases. Thermal inversions can have highly variable thicknesses and appear at any tropospheric level, from the Earth's surface itself to the highest part, where there is always one - the tropopause -, which marks the boundary between the troposphere and the stratosphere. The thermal inversion acts as a lid, abruptly halting rising air motions.