Describe the relationship between elevation and temperature within the troposphere.

• A. Temperature decreases as elevation increases
• B. Temperature increases as elevation increases
• C. Temperature remains constant with elevation
• D. Temperature cycles with elevation

Answer: (A)

In the troposphere, temperature generally falls with increasing height. This happens because the air near the surface is heated from the ground up, and as air parcels rise, they expand in the lower-pressure environment and cool—this is called adiabatic cooling. On average, the environmental lapse rate is about 6.5°C per kilometer of altitude, so climbing higher means a cooler temperature. There are exceptions, such as temperature inversions where a layer traps warmer air aloft, but the common pattern is cooling with elevation. This is why higher elevations like mountains are typically cooler than surrounding lowlands. If you go up about 2 kilometers, you’d expect roughly 13°C cooler conditions, all else equal.