What does anabatic mean?
Anabatic is a meteorological adjective describing wind that flows uphill. It arises when sunlight heats a slope faster than the surrounding valley floor; the air touching the warmed ground becomes buoyant and drifts upward along the incline. Anabatic winds typically begin in mid-morning, strengthen through a sunny afternoon, and are a familiar feature of mountain valleys worldwide. They are the daytime counterpart of katabatic winds, which drain downhill after dark as slopes cool. The word matters most to those who live or work in mountainous terrain: glider pilots and paraglider pilots deliberately seek out anabatic lift to stay airborne, forecasters use the term when predicting local breezes, and fire crews watch these upslope flows because they can drive flames uphill. Though technical in register, anabatic captures a graceful idea — that on a clear day, entire mountainsides can gently breathe skyward.
adjectiveRelating to or describing an upward-flowing wind or current of air, especially one that moves up a slope or hillside as it is heated by the sun.
- Of a wind or air current: flowing upward, especially up a heated slope or mountainside during the day.
"The anabatic winds that build along the sun-warmed valley walls each afternoon carry paragliders effortlessly back up to launch."
"By mid-morning the anabatic breeze had begun its steady climb up the south-facing slope."
"Soaring pilots time their launches to catch the strong anabatic lift generated by the sun-baked ridge."
Every sunny afternoon, mountains breathe — and the anabatic winds they exhale uphill are what keep sailplanes and paragliders aloft for hours.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does anabatic come from?
Anabatic derives ultimately from the ancient Greek verb anabainein, meaning 'to go up', formed from ana- ('up') and bainein ('to walk, go'). English adopted it via the modern scientific formation anabatikos, with the term entering meteorological usage around the late nineteenth century alongside its opposite, katabatic. It shares its Greek root with words such as basis and acrobat, all tracing back to bainein.
How anabatic is actually used
A technical term used chiefly in meteorology, aviation, and gliding contexts; rarely encountered in everyday conversation but standard in weather forecasting for mountainous regions.
Easily confused with anabatic
Katabatic describes wind flowing downhill under gravity (as at night when slopes cool), whereas anabatic describes wind flowing uphill as sun-heated slopes warm the air above them.