Water has a high specific heat capacity because it takes a lot of heat to increase the temperature of liquid water since some of the heat must be used to break hydrogen bonds between the molecules. It takes one calorie to raise 1 g of water by 1 °C.
Because of its high heat capacity, water can minimize changes in temperature. For instance, the specific heat capacity of water is about five times greater than that of sand. The land cools faster than the sea once the sun goes down, and the slow-cooling water can release heat to nearby land during the night. Water is also used by warm-blooded animals to distribute heat through their bodies: it acts similarly to a car’s cooling system, moving heat from warm places to cool places, helping the body keep an even temperature.