资源环境科技发展态势分析平台

The characteristics of temperature inversion (TI) are believed to be dependent on topographical features and synoptic regime. Western Ghats (WGs) mountains located in the west coast of India have a complex topography, and the TI features for this region remain unknown due to the complexity and non-availability of observational datasets. This study investigates the TI characteristics in the troposphere using high-resolution radiosonde data (2012–2015). The radiosonde measurements were from Mahabaleshwar (17.92°N, 73.6°E, ~1.4 km above mean sea level, AMSL), a high-altitude site on the WGs. The characteristics of TI in terms of height, depth, and strength (i.e., the temperature difference between the base and top of the inversion layer) are studied. The results showed that the TI occurs in all the seasons, however, their frequency differs. Winter (Dec.-Feb.) shows the maximum number of inversions followed by pre-monsoon (Mar.-May), post-monsoon (Oct.-Nov.), and monsoon (Jun.-Sep.). In winter, the depth of the inversion is higher; however, the inversion strength is weaker as compared to other seasons. The TI strength is always below 5 K. Apart from surface-based inversions, elevated and upper-tropospheric inversions are also observed. Vertical and horizontal wind shear profiles from ERA-5 data are analyzed to examine the plausible mechanism for the TI to occur.