system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: Why does it get colder in higher altitudes (above the clouds), even though you're closer to the sun?
gpt
Going above the clouds puts you closer to the sun in much the same way that someone in New York taking one step to the west puts them closer to Los Angeles.  That is to say, it's entirely insignificant a distance. The earth moves closer to, and farther away from, the sun on the order of millions of miles throughout the year, and even that has essentially zero effect.

The reason that it's colder at higher altitudes is because the air is thinner, and gases become colder when they expand.