The environmental lapse rate is the rate at which the temperature of the air falls with height in the troposphere, in degrees Celsius per kilometre. It changes from day to day and from place to place; the standard atmosphere uses an average of per kilometre.
示例
Example 23.4 (An airliner at cruising height)
An airliner cruises at , near the tropopause. On the profile, the temperature there is about . With the lapse rate: from at sea level, the air cools by degrees, which gives . On the pressure curve, the pressure is about , less than a quarter of the pressure on the ground: the cabin has to be pressurised.