Question

In which layer of the atmosphere all the weather and climate phenomena take place?
A. Mesosphere
B. Thermosphere
C. Troposphere
D. Stratosphere

Answer 1

Hint For weather and climate phenomenon to happen, a few conditions should be fulfilled. Air density and water vapor are a must to drive these phenomena along with the temperature range in which water can exist in liquid form. So, these phenomena can only happen in the layer which can fulfill these preconditions.

Complete step-by-step solutionClose to the earth’s surface, the air is heaviest because of high air density which decreases with an increase in altitude. The layer that is closest to the earth’s surface contains most of the atmosphere’s mass (about 75-80 percent) and almost all of its moisture. We can say that this layer is the wettest layer of the atmosphere with 99 percent of its water vapors. That is why most types of cloud formation happens in the Troposphere, the lowermost layer of the atmosphere. Very few cloud formations happen in the Stratosphere, the layer above the Troposphere. The boundary between these two is called Tropopause. The height of the Troposphere extends up to around 10km but it varies with season and change in latitude i.e., lowest at the poles and highest at the equator. The amount of water vapor in the atmosphere also decreases with an increase in latitude and increase in height because warm air close to the earth’s surface can hold more water vapor. The troposphere gets most of its heat through energy transfer from the surface.

Thus, option (C) is correct.

Note Layers of the atmosphere moving upward from ground levels are Troposphere, Stratosphere, Mesosphere, Thermosphere, and Exosphere or Ionosphere. The ozone layer lies in the Stratosphere.