We all know that our planet Earth revolves round the sun. Our planet is very close to the sun due to which there is lot of heat on Earth and this heat is increasing day by day.
It comes as no surprise to anyone sweated through it:2023 was the hottest year in the Human history.
As we are seeing that this year 2024 will also be very hot and it may continue to increase. Global warming is also increasing due to heat on Earth. Large glaciers are melting and the water level is rising in the oceans.
The cover of air around us is known as atmosphere. Atmosphere covers the earth like a blanket. Our atmosphere consists of various layers or zones above the ground. The composition of air and gases is different in each layer or zone.
Illustration of the five major layers in Earth’s atmosphere. The bottom layer is the troposphere, extending to an altitude of about 15 km (kilometres). Passenger jets can be found here, usually no higher than about 10 km. Above this is the stratosphere, from 15 to 50 km. Here resides the bulk of the ozone layer.
Weather balloons and stealth jets can attain this altitude. Next is the mesosphere, from 50 to 100 km. Some bright meteors can penetrate to the bottom of this layer. It is also where the highest altitude clouds reside – the noctilucent clouds, at around 80 km. Above the mesosphere is the thermosphere, where most meteors burn up and the aurora are created, and which goes up to approximately 500 km. Above this is the exosphere, the outermost layer that extends to about 10,000 km. Satellites orbit Earth in the exosphere. For an unlabelled version of this image see C057/9114.
- Troposphere [upto 8-16 km abovethe ground]
- Stratosphere[upto 16-50 km above the ground]
- Mesosphere[upto 50-100 km above the ground]
- Thermometer[upto 100-500 km above theground]
Existence of life on this planet is only possible due to the presence of atmosphere. There are many important roles played by atmosphere on Earth but we’ll discuss about the role of atmosphere in climate control.Climate is the long term pattern of weather in a particular area. This includes rainfall, temperature, snowfall or any other weather condition. We usually define a region’s climate over a period of 30 years.
Temperature is the major factor which controls the climate on Earth. Our atmosphere maintains a life supporting range of temperature. Because air is the bad conductor of heat, atmosphere maintains an average steady temperature on the earth.Atmosphere forms a thick layer of gases over the Earth’s surface. Gases like Carbon dioxide allow heat of sunlight to enter the Earth’s atmosphere but do not allow their escape. This effect is known as Green house effect.
Excessive rise in temperature of earth during day time and sudden fall in temperature at night is controlled by atmosphere. During day time it absorbs the heat of sun and helps in reflection of excessive heat. As a result, the average temperature of earth remains satisfactory steady during the day and night during the year.The biggest reason for increase in temperature, melting of large glaciers and increase in water level of oceans is the thinning of ozone layer.
The Ozone layer or Ozone shield is a region of Earth’s Stratosphere.
