With the beginning of March, abnormally warm air came to the ETR and propagated through the north-western, central and southern regions. New daily maxima of air temperature were recorded in Karelia, and in the Leningrad, Pskov and Novgorod Regions, with the decade-averaged temperature 2-5° higher than normal. But it was not the case everywhere in the European territory: frosts down to -40° took place in the Russian North, and down to -30°, in the Middle-Volga and Cis-Urals regions, where the decade averaged anomalies in the north of these regions reached -15°. Similar colds were observed in Chukotka, but along the Sea of Okhotsk south of it, the air temperature was above-normal.

Starting from the second decade, abnormally warm air rushed to Russia, rapidly decreasing the area occupied by the abnormal cold and shrinking it to the Middle and Northern Urals as well as to the north of the Western Siberia in the mid-month, and solely to Taimyr with its adjacent regions in the third decade. All the rest of Russia in both its west and east was targeted by abnormal heat currents that persisted until the end of the month.

Daily temperature maxima were recorded in the north-west of the country, in the Volga region and the Cis-Urals, in the Middle and Northern Urals, in Siberia, in the Khabarovsk Territory, in Kolyma and Chukotka, and in Central Russia. New air temperature maxima for March and new record-breaking monthly temperature averages were measured in Yakutia and the Magadan Region, exceeding the normal values by 6-16° in some locations.

As a result, the monthly-averaged air temperature was above-normal in most of Russia, and was below normal in the Urals and northern Siberia only, by some 2-8° degrees. In the rest of the country, on the monthly average, the air heated to 2-6° above normal in the ETR, and to 2-12°, in the Far East. In the ETR, the month was the third warmest in history after March 2020 and March 2025, with Central Russia of special interest, as no such warm March has been seen there before. Similarly, this March was very warm in the Far East where it was the second warmest in the north and the third warmest in the south of the region. Regarding Russia as a whole, the monthly-average temperature was among the top ten of the highest-ranked values.

In Moscow, March 2026 was the warmest in the history of meteorological observations, beating the previous record set in 2007 by as much as a half degree.

Abnormal warmth occupying the Far East of Russia spread to almost the entire foreign Asia: the average temperature in March was sub-normal in the Middle East only, whereas the rest of the continent was in abnormally warm climatic conditions. Even though the excess above the normal value was mostly slight, the monthly averages were two or more degrees higher than normal in some areas of China, Mongolia, India, Pakistan and Iran, and 2-4° or more degrees higher, in Central Asian countries.

Temperatures in North Africa were close to normal.

In Europe, March 2026 became the warmest in the history of regular meteorological observations: maximum air temperatures were recorded in Ukraine, Belarus, Germany, Austria, Luxembourg, Poland, Finland, the Baltic countries, etc. Normal monthly-averaged temperatures in the east and north of the continent were exceeded by 2-4°. In Finland, this March was the warmest on record.

Canada was squeezed by the cold: the air temperature would drop below -50°, and the monthly-averaged air temperature was 2-8° below normal. The last time March was so cold more than fifty years ago. This Match in Canada was the fourth coldest in the history of meteorological observations, but the weather in Alaska was colder still, and was altogether coldest in history. The opposite was observed in the rest of the USA where the monthly-averaged temperature was 2…6° above normal everywhere from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans, and this March was the second warmest in history, with 2012 remaining the leader.

In the Arctic, the average air temperature was close to normal.

The average temperature in the Northern Hemisphere calculated to an accuracy of 0.1°C was outside the top five in the ranking list compiled since 1891.

Sea Surface Temperature

The monthly-averaged surface temperature of the Pacific Ocean in the Northern Hemisphere reached an all-time maximum again in March 2026, which would happen almost continuously since October 2023. This time, high positive anomalies were formed at the equatorial, subtropical and temperate latitudes. In the first case, SST anomalies exceeded +1°, while in the second and third, +2…3° or greater. Abnormally cold water was observed at random times, chiefly in the Bering Sea and the Gulf of Alaska. But the appearance of abnormally warm water in the equatorial area off the coast of South America deserves special attention since it normally precedes a new El Niño.

In the Atlantic Ocean, high positive SST anomalies (of +2° or above) were observed at the temperate latitudes in the central part of the Ocean, whereas negative ones were merged in small water areas to the north, and off thee coast of Africa. Abnormally warm water was still observed in the marginal seas of Europe.

Precipitation

This March, almost all European Russia received significantly less atmospheric moisture than normal. Normal or, in places, above-normal figures were only reached in the Murmansk and Arkhangelsk Regions in the north, as well as in a number of republics of the North Caucasus. Rains were particularly heavy in the Republic of Dagestan and in the Chechen Republic. In Dagestan, up to 50 mm of rainwater accumulated daily at the end of the month, the normal monthly amounts were exceeded by three or more times in several days, creating floods that have never seen before in the Republic. Comparable intensive precipitation was measured in the north of the ETR on occasional days, complemented with new maxima of precipitation totals in the Republic of Karelia and the Vologda Region.

In the Urals, the monthly precipitation totals were normal, but further east, precipitation was very abundant, with the normal values exceeded by 1.5 or more times in the Siberian Federal District, the Tomsk and Novosibirsk Regions, the south of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, and in Evenkiya. The same patterns were observed in the Far East Federal District, in Yakutia, as well as in the Amur and Sakhalin Regions. On some days, a lot of atmospheric moisture above the highest precipitation totals were marked in Evenkyia, Yakukia and Kamchatka, and powerful snowfalls occurred in Primorye and Kamchatka.

In Moscow, 13 mm of precipitation fell during the month, which is one third of the normal monthly figure. This March was among the fifteen driest in the meteorological chronicle of the capital since 1891. In the 21st century, such a dry March occurred only once before in 2024.

In Mongolia and in the north-east of China, precipitation was scarce, but in the rest of China, normal or above-normal.

Rainfall was plentiful in Vietnam, but lacking in other countries of South-East Asia.

In India and Pakistan, precipitation was normal or above-normal.

The weather in Kazakhstan was dry, with the normal precipitation value reached in the west of the Republic. In the Central Asian republics, precipitation was normal or above normal.

Rains drenched the Middle East, leading to floods in Oman and UAE. The weather in Iran was dry.

In North Africa, abundant rain took place near the Mediterranean coast, where its normal amounts were 1.5-2.0 or more times the normal figure. Torrential rains lasted three days in the south of Ethiopia and the north of Kenya, causing landslides and floods and resulting in significant damages to the infrastructure of the region. Human deaths were reported.

In most of Europe, the weather was predominantly dry. Belarus media reported that this March was the driest in the history of the country. Heavy rains were observed in Spain, and the downpours caused flooding in England. Normal precipitation was only reached in the north of Scandinavia, and in some places in the north-west and south-east of the continent.

The weather in Central Canada was dry, while normal and above-normal precipitation was brought to the east and west of the country, as well as to the neighbouring American state of Alaska. The weather in the rest of the US save for the north-east was dry. In Mexico, the weather in the north was also dry, but in the central part of the country, heavy rains fell in amounts two or more times greater than normal.