Answer to Question #159377 in Physical geography for James Woatsi

Question

Explain why in the Earth's atmosphere the higher you go the cooler it becomes

Answer 1

The reason is simple: the sunlight warms up not the air but our planet, and then the planet releases the accumulated heat into space. Air is a thermal insulator. Closer to the planet surface the force of gravity is stronger, and thus, it is capable to gather more molecules of air (thicker layer of thermal insulation). High in the atmosphere the force of gravity is not enough to attract a lot of molecules and the thermal insulation is weaker. Thus, the temperature there is colder.

Another significant reason is that further from the earth the intensity of the accumulated heat the planet emits into space decreases.