Temperature increases as you gain altitude in the stratosphere and the thermosphere. Temperature decreases as you gain altitude in the troposphere and mesosphere. Air temperature varies in complicated ways with altitude. The decrease in temperature with height is due to the decrease in solar heating from the stratosphere. Just below the mesopause the temperature is the coldest on Earth. The decrease in temperature with height is due to the decrease in solar heating from the stratosphere. Just below the mesopause the temperature is the coldest on Earth. The mesosphere is directly above the stratosphere and below the thermosphere. It extends from about 50 to 85 km (31 to 53 miles) above our planet. Temperature decreases with height throughout the mesosphere. The coldest temperatures in Earth's atmosphere, about -90° C (-130° F), are found near the top of this layer. Temperature in the stratosphere rises with increasing altitude, because the ozone layer absorbs the greater part of the solar ultraviolet radiation.

As the density of the gases in this layer decrease with height, the air becomes thinner. Therefore, the temperature in the troposphere also decreases with height in response. Temperature decreases with altitude because the troposphere is warmed from below, through absorption and re-emission of incoming solar radiation by the Earth's surface, rather than being warmed from above by incoming solar radiation. The decrease in temperature with height is due to the decrease in solar heating from the stratosphere. Just below the mesopause the temperature is the coldest on Earth. Temperature increases as you gain altitude in the stratosphere and the thermosphere. Temperature decreases as you gain altitude in the troposphere and mesosphere. Air temperature varies in complicated ways with altitude. In the troposphere, the temperatures decrease with altitude. This is because the gas absorbs very little of the incoming solar radiation. Moreover, the ground absorbs this radiation and then heats the tropospheric air by conduction and convection. The temperature increases in the stratosphere due to the ozone layer being there that captures radiation. The temperature decreases in the next layer, the mesosphere, because there is no ozone layer there for protection + the amount of air in this layer decreases.

Heat is produced in the process of the formation of Ozone and this heat is responsible for temperature increases from an average -60°F (-51°C) at tropopause to a maximum of about 5°F (-15°C) at the top of the stratosphere. This increase in temperature with height means warmer air is located above cooler air. The decrease in temperature with height is due to the decrease in solar heating from the stratosphere. Just below the mesopause the temperature is the coldest on Earth. Temperature decreases with altitude because the troposphere is warmed from below, through absorption and re-emission of incoming solar radiation by the Earth's surface, rather than being warmed from above by incoming solar radiation. Unlike the stratosphere, temperatures once again grow colder as you rise up through the mesosphere. The coldest temperatures in Earth's atmosphere, about -90° C (-130° F), are found near the top of this layer. In the troposphere, the temperature generally decreases with altitude. The reason is that the troposphere's gases absorb very little of the incoming solar radiation. Instead, the ground absorbs this radiation and then heats the tropospheric air by conduction and convection. Ozone, an unusual type of oxygen molecule that is relatively abundant in the stratosphere, heats this layer as it absorbs energy from incoming ultraviolet radiation from the Sun. Temperatures rise as one move upward through the stratosphere. There are fewer air molecules to absorb incoming electromagnetic radiation from the Sun. That includes molecules of ozone, which absorb ultraviolet radiation and heat the stratosphere. In the mesosphere, the thin air and small amounts of ozone prevent the air from warming much. Temperature differences in the four layers are caused by the way solar energy is absorbed as it moves downward through the atmosphere. Extremely low temperatures are a general characteristic of the lower stratosphere, with a range from –40° to –80°C. A dominant feature in the chemical characteristics of the lower stratosphere is the presence of ozone. Ozone plays the major role in regulating the thermal regime of the stratosphere, as water vapor content within the layer is very low. Temperature increases with ozone concentration. Solar energy is converted to kinetic energy when ozone molecules absorb ultraviolet radiation, resulting in heating of the stratosphere.