How can the temperatures of sand and water affect climate?

Climate is defined as the weather conditions within a given area over a period of time. The climates of coastal regions that are near water are moderate compared to the climates of inland areas that are surrounded by sand. Thus, the presence of sand and water do have an effect on an area’s climate.

The differing heat capacities of sand and water can be used to explain their effects on an area’s climate. Heat capacity is defined as the amount of energy required to increase the temperature of a substance by one degree Celsius without changing the phase of the substance. Water has a much greater heat capacity than sand. Thus, it takes a lot more energy for water’s temperature to either increase or decrease than it does for sand’s temperature to change. Therefore, water heats up and cools down much more slowly than sand’s temperature. Hence, coastal regions that are near the water experience less drastic temperature ranges in their climates than do inland areas that contain larger amounts of sand.