What is a method of preventing air pollution during thermal inversion?

Avoiding industrial activity is a method of preventing air pollution during thermal inversion because thermal inversions can trap pollutants in a layer of cold air near the ground. During a thermal inversion, a layer of warmer air sits on top of cooler air, acting like a lid that prevents the vertical mixing of air. This can lead to the accumulation of pollutants from vehicles, industries, and other sources, contributing to poor air quality and health issues.

By reducing industrial activity, emissions of harmful pollutants such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter can be minimized. This is particularly important during inversion events when contaminants are more likely to stagnate in the atmosphere rather than disperse.

Increasing traffic in urban areas and using more fossil fuels would likely exacerbate the problem by adding more pollutants during a time when air quality is already compromised. Warming the lower atmosphere generally does not address the root cause of pollution during inversions and could continue to trap pollutants rather than alleviating the situation.