Question

Explain with the help of diagrams how land and sea breezes occur.

Answer 1

Formation of sea breezes:
During day, land gets heated up faster than sea water. The heated air rises up, thereby creating a temporary low pressure region that draws cold air from the sea towards the land. This happens because the land surface absorbs and radiates heat readily due to its low specific heat capacity. On the other hand, the sea water heats up slowly and radiates the heat in it at a slower rate, as it has a very high specific heat capacity. This breeze from the sea is called sea breeze.



Formation of land breezes:
At night, the land loses heat quickly and cools down faster than sea water, which is still hot as it loses heat slowly. Therefore, the hot air above the sea rises up and the cold air from the land moves towards the sea. This breeze from the land to the sea is called land breeze.