UPSC 2016 CDS II GK Paper

All the given statementsconcerning the atmosphere of theEarth are correct. The stratosphere defines a layer in which the temperature rises with an increasing altitude. This rise in temperature is caused by the absorption of ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the Sun by the ozone layer. Temperature decreases with height throughout the mesosphere. The coldest temperatures in the Earth's atmosphere, about –90° C (–130° F), are found near the top of this layer. Since the tropopause responds to the average temperature of the entire layer that lies underneath it, it is at its peak levels over the Equator, and reaches the minimum heights over the poles. On account of this, the coolest layer in the atmosphere lies at about 17 km over the equator.