How can satellites measure the Earth’s surface temperature when higher layers of the atmosphere are hotter?
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They measure infrared radiation, warmer things glow more.
Air is transparent to infrared, much like it is to visible light. Clouds block it only a little bit, and you can compensate for that if you know how thick are the clouds.
PS higher layers of atmosphere are colder. Sun does not warm the air (air is transparent to infrared), sun warms the ground, then ground warms the air. If you are high up, there is less ground to warm the air, and less air to insulate you from the eternal chill of space.
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