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<p>Air temperature, humidity, wind, and cloudiness are influenced by sea and land breezes (SLB). They are also the main environmental determinants of human thermal comfort or lack thereof in coastal regions, leading to heat stress. This study evaluates, for the first time, the relief from or aggravation of heat stress in the context of SLB, and it does so by introducing a novel sea breeze identification method that combines meteorologically-based criteria with changes in a comfort-related index. Considering quality-controlled observations from a coastal station near Nice (France) in 31 summer seasons from 1993 to 2023, 590 sea breeze events are identified, which occur on 54% of summer days. The majority of the events (423) are associated with increases in humidity and wind speed and provide heat relief on their onset, which is mostly in the morning, by favouring the body’s evaporative cooling, especially when air temperature decreases. In 167 events, heat aggravation is observed instead. Whether reducing or increasing air temperature, these events are characterised by increased humidity and weaker winds than the sea breezes in which relief occurs. The net result discourages the body’s convective cooling mechanisms, favouring heat stress. Results confirm the relieving value of onshore over offshore winds, especially at the beginning of the summer season in June, unveiling the complexity of SLB in the thermal comfort domain and drawing attention to a more refined vision on heat in areas affected by local winds.</p> Graphical Abstract <p>Graphical abstract describing the data, methodology and results of a novel sea-land breeze identification method. Applied to quality-controlled observations made at a coastal station in Nice (France) for 31 summer seasons between 1993 and 2023 (<i>left panel</i>), the method merges meteorologically-based criteria with changes in a comfort-related index (Universal Thermal Climate Index) to assess the relief and aggravation of human heat stress caused by sea-land breezes (<i>middle panel</i>). Breezes are identified as heat-relieving events when they primarily occur in the morning and at the start of summer, whereas heat aggravation occurs with events characterised by increased humidity and weaker winds (<i>right panel</i>).</p>

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Relief or Aggravation? A 31-Year study of sea-Land Breezes and Their Impacts on Coastal Heat Stress

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2025年11月4日

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  • Claudia Di Napoli,
  • David A. Lavers,
  • Peter Bechtold,
  • Florian Pappenberger

摘要

Air temperature, humidity, wind, and cloudiness are influenced by sea and land breezes (SLB). They are also the main environmental determinants of human thermal comfort or lack thereof in coastal regions, leading to heat stress. This study evaluates, for the first time, the relief from or aggravation of heat stress in the context of SLB, and it does so by introducing a novel sea breeze identification method that combines meteorologically-based criteria with changes in a comfort-related index. Considering quality-controlled observations from a coastal station near Nice (France) in 31 summer seasons from 1993 to 2023, 590 sea breeze events are identified, which occur on 54% of summer days. The majority of the events (423) are associated with increases in humidity and wind speed and provide heat relief on their onset, which is mostly in the morning, by favouring the body’s evaporative cooling, especially when air temperature decreases. In 167 events, heat aggravation is observed instead. Whether reducing or increasing air temperature, these events are characterised by increased humidity and weaker winds than the sea breezes in which relief occurs. The net result discourages the body’s convective cooling mechanisms, favouring heat stress. Results confirm the relieving value of onshore over offshore winds, especially at the beginning of the summer season in June, unveiling the complexity of SLB in the thermal comfort domain and drawing attention to a more refined vision on heat in areas affected by local winds.

Graphical Abstract

Graphical abstract describing the data, methodology and results of a novel sea-land breeze identification method. Applied to quality-controlled observations made at a coastal station in Nice (France) for 31 summer seasons between 1993 and 2023 (left panel), the method merges meteorologically-based criteria with changes in a comfort-related index (Universal Thermal Climate Index) to assess the relief and aggravation of human heat stress caused by sea-land breezes (middle panel). Breezes are identified as heat-relieving events when they primarily occur in the morning and at the start of summer, whereas heat aggravation occurs with events characterised by increased humidity and weaker winds (right panel).