Clouds can either heat or cool Earth.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Clouds can have both warming and cooling effects on the Earth's surface temperature. During the daytime, clouds can block some of the incoming solar radiation (cooling effect). However, at night, clouds can trap outgoing thermal radiation from the Earth's surface, acting like a blanket and keeping the surface temperature warmer than it would be without clouds (warming effect). Additionally, high clouds can reflect incoming solar radiation back out to space, which has a cooling effect on the planet.

Clouds Can Either Heat or Cool Earth