What daytime wind blows from the sea to the land?

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The daytime wind that blows from the sea toward the land is a sea breeze.

A sea breeze develops because land and water heat at different rates. After sunrise, land usually warms faster than the adjacent sea. Air over the land rises as it is heated, lowering surface pressure relative to the cooler air over the water. The resulting pressure difference drives cooler marine air inland.

Sea breezes are local circulation systems rather than permanent prevailing winds. They often become strongest during the afternoon, when the land–sea temperature contrast is greatest. The advancing boundary between the cooler marine air and warmer inland air is called a sea-breeze front. It can create clouds and, in humid and unstable conditions, help trigger thunderstorms.

The opposite circulation is a land breeze. It commonly develops at night after land cools faster than the sea, causing air to flow offshore. A monsoon is a seasonal reversal of larger-scale winds, while trade winds are persistent tropical winds; neither specifically means the daily daytime flow from sea to land.

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Aug. 2026

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