Sea and land breeze
Pressure differences blow the breezes.
At the seaside
On a hot day, the land gets hot faster than the sea. The air above the land becomes warmer and lighter.
Which way does the wind blow in the day?
What this lesson covers
The idea
Land heats faster than water by day, so low pressure forms over land and air blows in from the sea (sea breeze); at night the sea is warmer, so air blows from land to sea (land breeze).
At the seaside
On a hot day, the land gets hot faster than the sea. The air above the land becomes warmer and lighter.
Which way does the wind blow in the day?
- From the sea to the land
- From the land to the sea
- It does not blow
Day and night
Open both tabs.
Two breezes
During the day the land gets heated faster than the water, so low pressure forms over the land and air blows in from the sea. At night the water is warmer, so low pressure forms over the sea and air blows from the land to the sea. Pressure differences over land and sea cause the breezes.
Day: low pressure over land, wind from sea to land (sea breeze). Night: low pressure over sea, wind from land to sea (land breeze).
- Low pressure over | Wind blows from | Breeze
- Day | Land | Sea to land | Sea breeze
- Night | Sea | Land to sea | Land breeze
Notes
Breezes blow because of pressure differences over land and sea.
Check yourself
During the day the wind at the seaside blows from the …
At night low pressure forms over the …
The wind that blows from the land to the sea at night is called the …
Land and sea breezes are mainly due to …
- sea to the land — correct. Yes!
- land to the sea. That is the night wind. In the day low pressure forms over the land.
- sky to the sea. The sea breeze blows from the sea to the land.
- land. At night the land is cooler. The water is warmer, so low pressure forms over the sea.
- sea — correct. Yes!
- clouds. At night low pressure forms above the warmer sea.
- sea breeze. The sea breeze blows from the sea to the land in the day.
- storm. A storm is strong wind with rain. This is the land breeze.
- land breeze — correct. Yes!
- pressure differences over the land and the sea — correct. Yes!
- the colour of the sea. Pressure differences cause them.
- the sound of waves. Pressure differences over land and sea cause breezes.