Why is it colder at night in the moonlight than in the moonshadow?

Answer

Dear Jacqueline,

During the day, the sun provides a lot of heat/energy. If there is a cloud, a (large) part of solar energy will be blocked/absorbed by the cloud. The cloud itself also transmits energy towards the Earth’s surface (and in other directions as well), but this energy is much smaller than the direct energy of the sun’s rays. As a result, it will be colder during the day under a cloud (compared to a situation without clouds).

The situation is different at night, because then the sun does not shine (no solar energy). As a result, only the aforementioned energy radiation from the cloud plays a role. As a result, it will be warmer under a cloud (compared to a situation without clouds). If you look carefully at the weather forecast, you will see that the coldest nights in a given season usually occur when there are no clouds (typically linked to a high pressure area).

So at night the cloud is mainly a buffer (it captures part of the energy given off by the cooling earth and re-emits it back towards the earth), while during the day the cloud mainly acts as an obstacle (which absorbs the incoming solar energy). blocks/absorbs).

I hope this explanation helped you a little further!

Kind regards,

Harry