Question

Name the lowest layer of the atmosphere.

Answer 1

The lowest layer of the atmosphere is the troposphere. An atmosphere acts as a blanket of gases that surrounds Earth. The atmosphere has five distinct layers.

Layers of atmosphere

The different layers of the atmosphere are listed below

• Exosphere
• Thermosphere
• Mesosphere
• Stratosphere
• Troposphere

The troposphere is the lowest layer and exosphere is the highest or topmost layer. Let us know more about the lowest layer.

Troposphere

• The troposphere is the lowest layer in the atmosphere.
• It extends upward to about 10kms above sea level starting from ground level.
• The lowest part of the troposphere is called the boundary layer and the topmost layer is called the tropopause. The troposphere contains 75% of all air in the atmosphere.
• We can observe most of the clouds in this layer as 99% of the water vapour in the atmosphere is found here.
• Temperature and air pressure drop as you go higher in the troposphere. When a package of air moves upwards it expands.
• When air expands it cools. Due to this reason, the base of the troposphere is warmer than its base because the air in the surface of the Earth absorbs the sun’s energy, gets heated up and moves upward as a result of which it cools down.