What happens when the clouds cool …

Clouds also have an important effect on Earth's temperature. But it's a bit complicated: Clouds can both cool down and warm up the temperatures on Earth. Clouds can block light and heat from the Sun, making Earth's temperature cooler. ... So clouds can have both a cooling effect and a warming effect. If skies are clear, heat emitted from the earth's surface freely escapes into space, resulting in colder temperatures. However, if clouds are present, some of the heat emitted from the earth's surface is trapped by the clouds and reemitted back towards the earth. In contrast to the warming effect of the higher clouds, low stratocumulus clouds act to cool the Earth system. Because lower clouds are much thicker than high cirrus clouds, they are not as transparent: they do not let as much solar energy reach the Earth's surface.