How does temperature change as you move up through the atmosphere?

As you move up through the atmosphere, temperature generally decreases in the troposphere, which is the lowest layer, due to the decreasing pressure and density of air. However, in the stratosphere, temperatures begin to rise with altitude because of the absorption of ultraviolet radiation by the ozone layer. This pattern continues into the mesosphere, where temperatures drop again, and then rises once more in the thermosphere due to the absorption of high-energy solar radiation. Thus, temperature changes in a complex manner based on the atmospheric layer.