Meteorology is the study of the motions of the air, and the phenomena found in the atmosphere. The movement of air is critical to the sport of soaring. Transport Canada places further emphasis on hazardous meteorological events and how they affect safe flying and this is reflected in the material in this section. A pilot's primary concerns are visibility, wind speed and direction, and any obscuring phenomena.
While the atmosphere exists hundreds of miles above the earth’s surface, most of the changes in the weather that affect us in the short term are seen the troposphere. The troposphere extends from 28,000 feet over the poles, up to 60,000 feet over the equator. We are particularly interested in the temperature, pressure, and moisture content of the troposphere.