Cold air trapped in valleys can freeze spring crops
In the high plateaus of Anatolia, a strange atmospheric quirk can turn a mild spring evening into a localized deep freeze that destroys millions of dollars in crops.
On a typical April afternoon in Ankara, the air might feel like a pleasant spring day, but as the sun sets, a silent geographical trap begins to close. Because cold air is denser than warm air, it slides down the surrounding mountain slopes like water, pooling in the basin floors. This creates a thermal inversion—a layer of warm air sitting like a lid over a freezing pocket of cold air trapped against the ground.
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