Yes—what you’re seeing is likely a mix of two things: atmospheric haze and atmospheric turbulence (heat shimmer). A city often causes both, which is why distant urban shots can look worse than scenes over water.

To reduce it in-camera, a polarizing filter can help with haze and is usually more useful than old-style haze filters. But no filter can fully fix heat turbulence.

In post, dehaze-type tools can improve haze somewhat. Examples mentioned were DxO ClearView, Neutralhazer, and more general Lightroom adjustments like Contrast and Clarity.

Stacking usually won’t remove haze, and it’s not a reliable fix for heat shimmer distortion either. If the air itself is bending light differently from moment to moment, averaging frames generally won’t restore true detail.

Best practical approach:

• shoot when the air is more stable
• avoid strong heat sources in the line of sight
• use a polarizer for haze
• apply dehaze/clarity adjustments in post

You can improve the look, but severe atmospheric distortion often can’t be fully corrected after the fact.