In
weather forecasting
Weather forecasting is the application of science and technology to predict the conditions of the atmosphere for a given location and time. People have attempted to predict the weather informally for millennia and formally since the 19th cent ...
, decoupling is boundary-layer decoupling of atmospheric layers over land at night. During the day when the sun shines and warms the land, air at the surface of the earth is heated and rises. This rising air mixes the atmosphere near the earth. At night this process stops and air near the surface cools as the land loses heat by radiating in the
infrared
Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from around ...
. If winds are light, air near the surface of the earth can become much colder, compared to the air above it, than if more mixing of air layers occurred.
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Weather forecasting