What environmental issue is often exacerbated by atmospheric inversion?

Atmospheric inversion plays a significant role in air pollution accumulation. Under normal conditions, air temperature decreases with altitude, allowing pollutants to disperse and rise away from the surface. However, during an atmospheric inversion, a layer of warmer air traps cooler air, which resides at the surface. This stable layer prevents the vertical mixing of air, causing pollutants, such as smoke, dust, and particulate matter, to accumulate in the lower atmosphere.

As pollution sources continue to emit contaminants, they become concentrated below the inversion layer, leading to poor air quality and potential health hazards for populations in those areas. This dynamic can result in smog formation and other adverse environmental conditions, particularly in urban areas where pollution sources are more prevalent.

While heat waves, fog formation, and storm development are all noteworthy meteorological phenomena, they are influenced by different atmospheric processes and dynamics, making them less directly related to the effects of atmospheric inversions on air quality.