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The thermotidal exciting function J is considered, for<br />the absorption of solar radiation by water vapour, according to the model<br />derived by Siebert. The Mugge-Moller formula for water vapour absorption<br />is integrated numerically, using experimental data for the water vapour<br />concentration in the troposphere and the stratosphere. It appears that<br />Siebort's formula is a reasonable approximation at low tropospheric levels<br />but it dramatically overestimates the water vapour thermotidal heating<br />in the upper troposphere and in the stratosphere. It seems thus possible<br />that, if the correct vertical profile is employed for J , the amplitudes and<br />phases of the diurnal temperature oscillations and of the tidal wind speeds<br />may suffer significant changes from those previously calculated and possibly explain the three hours delay of the observed phases from the computed values.