Meteorology uses pressure as the vertical coordinate and not height. This works out better for thermodynamic computations that are done on a regular basis. Pressure decreases in the atmosphere exponentially as height increases reaching 0 pressure in space. The standard unit of pressure is millibars (mb or hectopascals-hPa) of which sea level is around 1015 mb. Standard pressure levels and approximate heights:

   Pressure     Approximate Height    Approximate Temp
   Sea level        0 m       0 ft       15 C   59 F
   1000 mb        100 m     300 ft       15 C   59 F
    850 mb       1500 m    5000 ft        5 C   41 F
    700 mb       3000 m   10000 ft       -5 C   23 F
    500 mb       5000 m   18000 ft      -20 C   -4 F
    300 mb       9000 m   30000 ft      -45 C  -49 F
    200 mb      12000 m   40000 ft      -55 C  -67 F
    100 mb      16000 m   53000 ft      -56 C  -69 F