As we go higher and higher altitude , why the temparature decreases?

Answer 1

I have answered this before, but I'll paste it in:

One of the the simplest ways to understand this is to look at the opposite situation -- namely what is the typical temperature of some place at low altitude? And the answer would be "warmer". What are some of the things that are different at high & low altitude? Well "air pressure" is a big one. In fact that is how aircraft typically measure altitude.

What gives air its "pressure"? Well, as anyone who has inflated a balloon or tire knows, packing more air into something gives it more pressure. But what is doing the "packing" out in the atmosphere? To answer this you have to think about pressure in the ocean or under any deep water. The weight of the "stuff" above makes the pressure.

So at low altitude there is an "ocean of air" above that packs in the air. And at hight altitude there is less densely packed air..

BUT how does THAT explain temperature??

Well again you have to think on the microscopic level. At the microscopic definition the meaning of "temperature" is a measure of the SPEED that particles are moving at. The "speed" of particles at low temperature is slow moving, and hot temperatures are high speed. When particles of air are tightly packed they bump into each other a lot and this bumping keeps them hot. When particles are not tightly packed they don't get bumped much and are slow and cool.

Finally there is "heat". Anything that is more dense tholds more heat than a less dense thing. Doesn't matter whether you are talking about air or anything else (though generally only gases have enough variability of density for this be a factor, though that is a whole 'nother topic) more of it will hold more heat than less of it.

Answer 2

More than one reason really.
One is that the earth absorbs radiant heat, and then radiates it again. So objects closest to the heat source stay warmer.
Another reason is the space between air molecules increases as we gain altitude, making the air harder to heat, and less likely to hold heat.

Answer 3

As you go up, the atmosphere thins and it cannot absorb and radiate heat as well as at the sea level. The temperature changes 3.5 degrees F per 1000 feet...

Answer 4

Since heat bounces off the earth's surface most of it stays there in the Troposphere held in by the carbon, but as we get higher there is less heat because most of the heat is by the earth's surface.

Answer 5

as we go high the pressure decreases considerbly due to the absence of dense gases..so temperature decrease by the formula
PV=nRT

Answer 6

because as you go higher the air molecules are fewer and farther apart than in the lower regions............

Answer 7

as altitude increases, you get further and further from the core of the earth, which is where our heat comes from