The Conversation

Curious Kids: why is air colder the higher up you go?

Author: Zoran Ristovski, Professor, Queensland University of Technology

The air up high is just really bad at 'holding' onto the radiation coming from the Sun, and the warmth passes straight through it on its journey toward the ground.Kevin Spencer/flicr, CC BY-NC

Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskidsus@theconversation.com.

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