Temperature increases as you gain altitude in the stratosphere and the thermosphere. Temperature decreases as you gain altitude in the troposphere and mesosphere. The troposphere is the lowest layer of the atmosphere, characterized by a temperature that decreases with altitude. 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.
The two atmospheric zones or layers in which the temperature decreases with altitude are the troposphere and the mesosphere. The Stratosphere extends around 31 miles (50 km) down to anywhere from 4 to 12 miles (6 to 20 km) above the Earth's surface. This layer holds 19 percent of the atmosphere's gases but very little water vapor. In this region the temperature increases with height. Thermospheric temperatures increase with altitude due to absorption of highly energetic solar radiation. Temperatures are highly dependent on solar activity, and can rise to 2,000 °C (3,630 °F) or more. Temperature increases as you gain altitude in the stratosphere and the thermosphere. Temperature decreases as you gain altitude in the troposphere and mesosphere. The farther away you get from the earth, the thinner the atmosphere gets. The total heat content of a system is directly related to the amount of matter present, so it is cooler at higher elevations. The basic answer is that the farther away you get from the earth, the thinner the atmosphere gets. The total heat content of a system is directly related to the amount of matter present, so it is cooler at higher elevations. 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 troposphere is the lowest layer of the atmosphere, characterized by a temperature that decreases with altitude. The temperature of the thermosphere gradually increases with height. Unlike the stratosphere beneath it, wherein a temperature inversion is due to the absorption of radiation by ozone, the inversion in the thermosphere occurs due to the extremely low density of its molecules.