Get premium membership and access questions with answers, video lessons as well as revision papers.
In the troposphere, temperature decreases with increase in elevation, what is commonly referred to as Environmental Lapse Rate (ELR). This has been calculated for many world areas to average 6.50 C/km. The vertical distribution of temperature is influenced by the nature of the underlying surface. For example, temperature decreases most rapidly with altitude over continental areas than water masses in summer.
Another effect of altitude on temperature is the difference it causes on diurnal range of temperature, such that this range is greater at a higher elevation than at an equivalent climate at sea level. The main difference occurs during the night when the escape of terrestrial energy takes place readily because of the lower density of gases at higher elevation. The decrease of pressure with altitude also modifies the meaning of given values on temperature scales. The reduced pressure, for example, means that molecules of water vapour escape more easily from a water surface. Thus at sea level, water boils at a temperature of 1000 C, at an elevation of about 3000m, water will boil at 900 C, at 6000m water boils at about 700 C.
The decrease of temperature with increasing elevation is periodically interrupted, and temperature increase with altitude may occur. This is referred to as temperature inversion. Inversion can occur at ground level when associated with radiation cooling or above the ground level because of subsidence.
francis1897 answered the question on October 5, 2022 at 05:23