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How do temperatures change in the mesosphere?

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Wispy cirrus clouds stretch across a bright blue sky above trees and a river at Pinawa Dam Provincial Park in Manitoba, Canada, with sunlight illuminating the scene. — Atmosphere The atmospheres of planets in the solar system are composed of various gases, particulates, and liquids. They are also dynamic places that redistribute heat and other forms of energy. On Earth, the atmosphere provides critical ingredients for living things. Here, feathery cirrus clouds drift across the deep blue sky over Pinawa Dam Provincial Park, near Pinawa, Manitoba, Canada.

In the mesosphere, which extends from approximately 50 km to 80 km above the Earth's surface, temperatures decrease as altitude increases.12

This region begins at the stratopause—a temperature maximum at the top of the stratosphere—and continues upward until it reaches the mesopause, which marks the temperature minimum that defines the base of the thermosphere. Unlike the stratosphere, where temperature increases with height, the mesosphere does not strongly inhibit vertical air currents.12