But if heat rises and mountains are closer to the sun, why is it cooler at elevation? Synopsis: During the summer heat, many vacationers head to the mountains to cool off. So, even though they’re closer to the sun, thin air in the mountains keeps them colder than the thicker air in the lowlands surrounding them. But as it does, the atmospheric pressure decreases, the air expands, and it cools. That means the air near the surface is not only better able to conduct Earth’s reflected heat but generates its own heat because it’s dense. The compressed air is denser with molecules, which are more likely to collide, and these collisions produce heat. And its weight bearing down on the air at the surface compresses it more than the air at altitude. Like all gases, the air in our atmosphere is a poor conductor-because it’s not dense with particles. So is that why it’s warmer lower and cooler higher? And that radiates heat back upward, warming the atmosphere from the bottom up. When this solar radiation finally meets Earth’s surface, it warms it. Instead, the sun emits electromagnetic energy: ultraviolet, visible and infrared light, X-rays, and radio waves. There would need to be particles of some element to conduct its heat but space is a vacuum. The heat of the sun can’t actually radiate through space. Here’s a riddle: If heat rises, and mountains are closer to the sun, why are they always colder? Summer snow in the mountains and green crops in the valley illustrate the temperature differences that occur in mountainous regions.

The mountain js you