Everyone knows that in the bathhouse or sauna the hottest place is right under the ceiling. But why is this not so on a planetary scale?

If warm air rises, in the mountains, and indeed at high altitudes, there should be eternal tropics, and instead of heat there is a lower temperature. In fact, such a phenomenon is not an anomaly at all, it is understandable. It is enough to listen to the opinions of scientists, so that everything becomes clear.

How is the planet warming up?

Asking the question of how the heating of our planet is carried out, many people will confidently answer that the heat comes from the Sun. This is true, but it should be understood that the sun's rays fall on the surface of the Earth, warming it. They cannot warm the air by themselves., its density and thermal conductivity are too low. The surface of the Earth is heated, which then gives off heat to the air, which transfers it to outer space. The loss of heat from the atmosphere is hindered by greenhouse gases, creating conditions in which elevated temperatures are held near the surface of the planet. However, the higher, the less greenhouse gases, and temperatures fall.

The cold air above cannot simply displace warm air with its mass - the pressure below is higher, therefore the air density is also higher than in the upper discharged layers.However, the movement of cold air down and warm up is still observed - this is how winds appear. The process is relevant for those air masses that are colder than the main ones within its layer. The air in the mountains can be colder than the surrounding because of ice caps, and it can fall down - this is how, for example, cyclical winds from the mountains arise, like boron.

How is the temperature formed in the mountains?

Thus, the question of warm air rising up is understandable - within the globe, it remains near the earth's surface. The proximity of the upper atmosphere to the Sun also does not play any role. If we consider the situation with the highlands, completely different factors play a role here.

Absorbing solar heat, the earth's surface transfers it to the air, warming it up to 15 km in height. But the heating is not uniform - the closer to the surface, the warmer, and the farther from it, the colder. The air has a low thermal conductivity and cools quickly, and with increasing height it also becomes discharged, which further reduces thermal conductivity. In practice, for every kilometer of altitude, a temperature drop of about 6 degrees is necessary, and this is true both for climbers climbing in years and for aeronauts and pilots.

However, at this point, many people will probably object: why does the temperature in the mountains decrease with increasing altitude, if the sun still provides heating of the earth’s surface near the atmospheric masses present?

The mountains themselves are also warmed by the luminary, receive heat from it and transmit it into the air.In general, this is a true statement, however, it is worth remembering the discharge of air, which is more difficult to warm up at altitude, and that the mountainous areas do not have such a significant area, but remain open to all winds.

The rays fall on the mountain ranges at an angle, which ensures minimal heating, and not sheer, as on flat land - the latter option is more effective. And the mountains are usually located under snow caps, and the snow has the ability to reflect the sun's rays, minimizing heating.

Thus, it is colder in the mountains due to air exhaustion, inefficient heating of surfaces, for a number of other reasons. Warm air should go up, and therefore it should be warmer above than below, but this pattern does not always work within the atmosphere of the entire planet.