Why is the temperature of air in the coastal areas warmer during the day but cooler at night and coastal variation in temperature between summer and winter months?
As the sun sets, the land and sea start cooling down. The land quickly loses heat when compared to water due to the differences in heat capacity. Consequently, the temperature of the sea is relatively higher, which creates low air pressure there. This sets up a flow of cool breeze offshore, known as the land breeze. The coastal areas do not experience much variation in temperature between summer and winter months because they are influenced by the moderating effect of the sea. This is because of the moderating influence of the adjoining water bodies. The land and sea breezes moderate the temperatures. In coastal areas, during daytime, there is a regular flow of cool air from the sea towards the land. At night, there is a reverse flow of air from land to sea. This happens because during the daytime, land gets heated faster than water and radiated heat from land, heats the air above it.
This is because of the moderating influence of the adjoining water bodies. The land and sea breezes moderate the temperatures. In coastal areas, during daytime, there is a regular flow of cool air from the sea towards the land. At night, there is a reverse flow of air from land to sea. As a result, areas along the coast, or near large bodies of water, will retain that warmth thanks to the sea breeze effect. When air blows over land from the water, it warms those nearby areas, before the air then cools as it travels further inland. Coastal areas experience less contrasts in temperature conditions due to moderating effect of the seas. The large water bodies helps in moderating temperature. Water has a higher heat capacity than soil and rock, so the ocean takes much longer to heat and to cool than the land. Therefore, coastal climates are much more temperate because a body of water is nearby to regulate the temperature and keep it more constant. This means that coastal locations tend to be cooler in summer and warmer in winter than places inland at the same latitude and altitude. As such, sand gets heated or cooled more rapidly as compared to water under the similar conditions. Thus a large difference in temperature is developed between the land and the sea due to which land and sea breezes are formed. These breezes make the climate near the sea shore moderate.