The Earth's atmosphere is like a cocktail of gases, tiny solid particles, and liquids, all drawn to the Earth by gravity. It's up to about 80 km high, and mainly consists of nitrogen (78%), oxygen (21%), and argon (0.9%). There are also trace gases like carbon dioxide, helium, and ozone, not to forget water vapour and small solids such as dust and soot.

Think of the atmosphere like a layered cake. The lowest layer, up to around 16-17 km, is the troposphere, where all our weather happens. As you climb in this layer, the temperature drops (roughly 6.5°C per km). It's also where most of the water vapour hangs out, as above 15km, the air gets too cold to hold water vapour.

There are other layers above the troposphere, each with unique characteristics and gas concentrations. Imagine floating upwards, and you'll encounter the stratosphere (with lots of ozone between 25-35 km), the mesosphere (where the temperature drops again), and the thermosphere (where temperatures rise again).

For example, picture the Earth as an apple. The skin of the apple represents the troposphere, where we live and where our weather happens. The rest of the apple represents the higher layers of the atmosphere.

Our atmosphere is an energy system, getting heat from both the Sun and Earth. The sunlight we receive is called insolation, which powers all our weather systems and climates. Picture the Sun as a massive nuclear power plant sending out energy to us. Earth catches most of this energy around the tropics, while the polar regions lose energy. Think of it as a teeter-totter – more energy absorption in one area and less in another.

Wind circulation and ocean currents help balance this out by moving energy from lower latitudes (near the equator) to higher latitudes (near the poles), like a conveyor belt carrying heat.

Even though Earth is constantly receiving solar energy, the atmosphere wasn't getting hotter until recently. This balance between insolation inputs and re-radiation outputs has been disturbed by human activities such as changes in land use and burning of fossil fuels.

Energy balance is achieved in three ways:

• Radiation (emission of electromagnetic waves like X-rays, short waves, and long waves)
• Convection (transfer of heat by moving gas or liquid)
• Conduction (transfer of heat by direct contact)

Think of these as the three "RCC" superheroes of the atmospheric energy balance, each playing a unique role.