Winds from the sea

The idea

By day land heats faster, warm air over it rises and cooler air moves from sea to land (sea breeze); at night land cools faster and cooler air moves from land to sea (land breeze).

A cool breeze at the beach

People on the coast feel a cool breeze from the sea in the afternoon. At night the breeze blows the other way.

Why does the wind change direction?

• Land and sea heat up and cool down at different rates
• The sea is moved by the Moon
• The houses push the air

Day and night

Look at the arrows in the day picture. Then switch to night.

Warm air rises, cool air moves in

By day the land is hotter. The warm air above it rises, and cooler air from the sea moves in. At night the land is cooler. Now the air above the sea is warmer, so it rises and cooler air from the land moves out to the sea.

By day the land heats faster, warm air over it rises and cooler air moves from the sea to the land (sea breeze). At night the land cools faster and cooler air moves from the land to the sea (land breeze).

• Time | Warmer air is over | Cooler air moves | Name
• Day | Land | From sea to land | Sea breeze
• Night | Sea | From land to sea | Land breeze

Notes

By day, warm air rises over the hotter land and cooler air moves from the sea to the land: a sea breeze. At night, warm air rises over the sea and cooler air moves from the land to the sea: a land breeze.

Check yourself

During the day, cooler air moves …

A wind that blows from the sea to the land is called a …

Why does a land breeze blow at night?

Windows of houses in coastal areas are placed facing the sea so that they get …

• from the land to the sea. That happens at night, in a land breeze.
• from the sea to the land — correct. Yes!
• straight down into the sea. At the coast, cooler air moves along from the sea towards the land by day.
• land breeze. A land breeze blows from the land to the sea, at night.
• sand breeze. There is no such name. It is a sea breeze.
• sea breeze — correct. Yes!
• The land cools faster, so the air over the sea is warmer and rises — correct. Yes!
• The land heats faster than the sea at night. At night there is no sunlight. The land cools faster than the sea.
• The sea cools faster than the land at night. It is the land that cools faster.
• the hot land breeze. The breeze that cools people in the heat of the day is the sea breeze.
• the cool sea breeze — correct. Yes!
• the Moon all night. The reason is the sea breeze, which brings cooler air from the sea.