Specific heat is the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of a given substance by one degree Celsius. Objects with high specific heat will heat/cool more slowly than something with low specific heat. Water has a higher specific heat than dry land, meaning that the same amount of energy applied to land and water will result in the land being hotter since it takes less energy to raise the temperature of land.
Specific heat also comes in to play when when we're talking about lowering temperature. Due to its higher specific heat, water tends to "hold on" to heat more than dry land. This is part of the reason why coastal areas tend to have more mild winters compared to inland areas. The water (high specific heat) gained a lot of heat energy during the warm summer months and takes time to lose the heat throughout the winter, while the ground (low specific heat) adjusts to cold air temperatures much more quickly.
