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Stratosphere
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<p>The stratosphere is the second-lowest <a href="/facts/Atmospheric_stratification/FV97Am25">layer</a> of the <a href="/facts/Atmosphere_of_Earth/FV97Am25">atmosphere of Earth</a>, located above the <a href="/facts/Troposphere/JPDQq8cL">troposphere</a> and below the <a href="/facts/Mesosphere/JBPKmMuk">mesosphere</a>. The stratosphere is composed of <a href="/facts/Stable_and_unstable_stratification/HFSsD0cm">stratified</a> <a href="/facts/Temperature/QyGe4gmj">temperature</a> zones, with the warmer layers of <a href="/facts/Air/hQ95Jznz">air</a> located higher (closer to <a href="/facts/Outer_space/R3LRKyFs">outer space</a>) and the cooler layers lower (closer to the <a href="/facts/Planetary_surface/c3QVcQpV">planetary surface</a> of the Earth). The increase of temperature with <a href="/facts/Altitude/B5eNVurK">altitude</a> is a result of the absorption of the <a href="/facts/Sun/CadPCVHh">Sun</a>'s <a href="/facts/Ultraviolet/kncBUqn5">ultraviolet</a> (UV) radiation by the <a href="/facts/Ozone_layer/v4KfjalC">ozone layer</a>, where <a href="/facts/Ozone/o0E5gn2p">ozone</a> is <a href="/facts/Exothermic/gCuSvpa4">exothermically</a> <a href="/facts/Photodissociation/nzRyzh8I">photolyzed</a> into <a href="/facts/Oxygen/acyn6o8r">oxygen</a> in <a href="/facts/Ozone-oxygen_cycle/uj9IUAFk">a cyclical fashion</a>. This <a href="/facts/Inversion_(meteorology)/GXdVvy7I">temperature inversion</a> is in contrast to the troposphere, where temperature decreases with altitude, and between the troposphere and stratosphere is the <a href="/facts/Tropopause/26rub4PU">tropopause</a> border that demarcates the beginning of the temperature inversion. </p><p>Near the <a href="/facts/Equator/CjaxbVaN">equator</a>, the lower edge of the stratosphere is as high as 20 km (66,000 ft; 12 mi), at mid-latitudes around 10 km (33,000 ft; 6.2 mi), and at the <a href="/facts/Geographical_pole/dTShPqll">poles</a> about 7 km (23,000 ft; 4.3 mi). Temperatures range from an average of −51 °C (−60 °F; 220 K) near the tropopause to an average of −15 °C (5.0 °F; 260 K) near the mesosphere. Stratospheric temperatures also vary within the stratosphere as the <a href="/facts/Season/20vCqJWN">seasons</a> change, reaching particularly low temperatures in the <a href="/facts/Polar_night/cyVRkkes">polar night</a> (winter). <a href="/facts/Wind/Nt0QIu5B">Winds</a> in the stratosphere can far exceed those in the troposphere, reaching near 60 m/s (220 km/h; 130 mph) in the Southern <a href="/facts/Polar_vortex/RM34TWNk">polar vortex</a>. </p>