The monograph generalizes the main results of theoretical and experimental studies which examine various aspects of the problem of the propagation of visible and infrared waves in the atmosphere. The first two parts examine problems dealing with the absorption and dissipation of both monochromatic and non-monochromatic radiation under various meteorological conditions, distances and directions in which the radiation is propagated. The third part describes the laws which govern the spatial propagation of bounded radiation beams from heat sources and lasers in the atmosphere: the structure of the beam in various scattering media, the effect of atmospheric turbulence on the beam parameters and nonlinear effects which accompany the propagations of powerful radiation in the atmosphere.