Why is the temperature the highest at two or three in the afternoon in summer?

The highest temperature in a day usually appears around 2 pm.

At noon 12, the solar radiation is the strongest. Sunlight shines vertically on the ground, making it hot. The heat absorbed by the ground releases dry air, so it takes some time to heat up.

It was not until two or three o'clock in the afternoon that the ground temperature rose to the highest, and the temperature was also the highest. At this time, although the sun is inclined to the west, the altitude angle is still very large, and the heat stored on the surface is still greater than the heat released, which makes the temperature continue to rise, the local surface heat balance, and the surface temperature reaches its peak. After that, the surface releases more heat than it stores, which makes the surface temperature lower.

Whether the weather is hot or cold mainly depends on the atmospheric temperature, and the main factor affecting the atmospheric temperature is the heat given to the atmosphere by the sun. But direct sunlight is not the main reason for the temperature rise.

Air can only absorb about 14% of the direct sunlight heat, and about 43% of the heat is absorbed by the ground. When the ground absorbs the heat of the sun, it is conducted into the air through radiation, convection and other forms, which is the direct cause of the temperature rise.