Question

Which property of water enables it to modify the climate?

Answer 1

Hint: Water has the ability to absorb and release large amounts of heat energy. What is the name of this property?
Complete step-by-step answer:
Let us analyse all the properties of water that enable it to modify the climate.
Water has a high specific heat. Specific heat is the amount of energy required to change the temperature of a substance.
As water has a high specific heat, it can absorb large amounts of heat energy before it begins to get hot. It also means that water releases heat energy slowly when situations cause it to cool.
Due to this, water cools off more slowly in the evening and it warms up more slowly during the day.
So, the organisms living in the water have a more stable environment. Hence, water's high specific heat allows for the moderation of the Earth's climate and helps organisms regulate their body temperature more effectively.
Another relevant property of water in this regard is its latent heat of evaporation powers atmospheric dynamics by enhancing the temperature differential and thus lowering density in a parcel of air.
This forces air to move more rapidly which means stronger lifting of air, higher precipitation rates and stronger winds.
In its solid form of ice and snow, water has a high albedo, or reflectance of light. This cools an environment since that portion not absorbed does not add to the heat content of the surface.
Water forms clouds in the atmosphere which also have a high albedo.
Therefore, to conclude, all of the above factors help enable water to modify the Earth’s climate.

Note: While the high specific heat of water is obviously the most important reason for the explanation of the given phenomenon, a few more reasons to explain the same will result in a more well-rounded answer.