Does smog still pertrail at night time?

Question

When driving my car all over the place at night (besides wasting gas), does this still cause air pollution? Or does all of the exhaust just fall on the ground or something
THANKS!

Answer 1

This would be a good question to ask over in the astronomy section. I know the generation of smog is not affected by time of day. However it is affected by the temperatures of the layers of air above it. That can give you smog phenomenon like the "inversion layer", where the smog gets trapped close to the ground. It's also well known that things cool down when the sun goes down. That's why thunderstorms pop up late in the day when it's hot and humid.

The reason why I suggest the astronomy section is that I've often had the experience of having a nice clear day and looking forward to a good night of viewing, only to have it cloud up as soon as the sun goes down. The most obvious possible reason is that because warm air rises, so colder air is drawn toward the sun. The wind blows toward the sun as it goes down on most days, and on most days the temperature will drop a little right before sunrise, as cooler air is drawn toward the rising sun. That wouldn't affect the smog in any special way. I'd be interested in hearing the answer to this one myself.

Answer 2

Smog is particulate matter that is expelled into the atmosphere by use of petrocarbons and many other sources. There is no major difference noted between night and day. Although cooling and lack of sunlight does help to lessen smog.