Exothermal inversion

From Memory Alpha, the free Star Trek reference

An exothermal inversion is a catastrophic cascading reaction in a planet's atmosphere.

When ionizing dust particles accumulated in the atmosphere of Penthara IV, an exothermal inversion was one of the possible negative outcomes, which would have completely burned off the planet's atmosphere. The catastrophe was averted, however. (TNG: "A Matter of Time")