Impact Irvine on Instagram: "Why SoCal fog + “bad air” alerts feel strange but aren’t a conspiracy You’re not imagining it: the fog has been thick and the air quality alerts are real. In Irvine we can’t be away from the sun for this long! But this isn’t a new man-made phenomenon. What’s happening is a weather + pollution trap: A shallow marine layer and temperature inversion act like a lid. Cool, moist air (fog) sits near the ground, warmer air sits above it, and the atmosphere can’t mix. At the