Why Does it get Colder as you Climb a Mountain ?

As you climb up a high mountain the air gets colder. You may be a kilometer nearer the Sun., but the Sun is still 150 million kilometers away !

The Sun heats the Earth, and it is the Earth that heats the air .the Sun’s energy arrives as shortwave radiation, which is easily absorbed by the sir. There is more air to absorb the heat near the Earth’s surface than higher up . So the higher you go, the colder it gets .