Question

Give reasons.

Temperature increases in the stratosphere.

Answer 1

The temperature increases in the stratosphere because the ozone layer, located within the stratosphere (between about 20 km and 50 km altitude), absorbs the Sun’s ultraviolet (UV) radiation. This absorption of UV rays by ozone generates heat, causing the temperature to rise with increasing height in this layer.

In the lower stratosphere, the temperature remains almost constant at first, but as you go higher towards the stratopause (upper boundary of the stratosphere at around 50 km), the temperature increases from about −60°C to 0°C due to the heat released by ozone absorbing solar ultraviolet radiation.

Thus, unlike the troposphere, where temperature decreases with altitude because air is heated from the Earth’s surface, the stratosphere warms with height because of the absorption of ultraviolet radiation by ozone molecules in this layer.