Heat capacity of water and how it affects you at the beach

The people in the photo above are all experiencing different temperatures depending which part of the beach they are on. Those in the water are most likely feeling cooler than those on the sand. This is due to the high specific heat capacity of water. In other words, the same amount of heat energy when applied to sand and water will increase the temperature of the sand more than it will increase the temperature of the water. Water actually has one of the highest specific heat capacities of all the substances on Earth. Hydrogen gas, helium gas, and aqueous (liquid) ammonia are a few substances with a higher heat capacity than water.