Large bodies of water act as a temperature shock absorber. Water is relatively difficult to heat or cool. That means large bodies of water tend to stay about the same temperature despite the ambient air temperature. When the air cools at night, the warmer water heats the air. The opposite happens during day when the warm air is chilled by the cooler water (which is still the same temperature as it was 12 hours prior). In the desert, there is no water to do this resulting in larger temperature swings between night and day.
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