MAIN WEATHER AND CLIMATE TRAITS IN THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE AS OF APRIL 2026

Air temperature

Exceptionally warm weather that spread across European Russia in the second half of March remained warm at the beginning of April. In the first decade of the month, the decade-averaged temperatures were 2-3 or more degrees higher than normal, moreover, not in the ETR alone, but also in the south of the Urals and of Western Siberia. Meanwhile, even higher anomalies developed in the Far East.

But in the second decade, cold weather came to the central, western and southern ETR regions: in the Krasnodar Territory, Crimea, Adygea, Karachay-Cherkessia and Kabardino-Balkaria, where the air temperatures on some days dropped below zero and the decade-averaged temperature anomalies changed to negative. Warmth survived solely in the north and north-west of the ETR, in the Middle and Lower Volga region and in the south of the Urals, where new daily temperature maxima were recorded during the decade. The rest of Russia submerged into colds: for example, the decade-averaged temperatures in Siberia turned out to be 2-7° lower than normal.

The third decade, colds in the ETR increased even more. In the south, new daily temperature minima were measured, and the decade-averaged temperatures were 2-6° below normal. By contrast, warm weather returned to the Urals and to Siberia, resulting in the decade-averaged temperatures 3-7° above normal and bringing new daily temperature maxima to the south of Siberia (to the Altai Territory, Kemerovo Region, Krasnoyarsk Territory, and to Khakassia) where the thermometer readings rose to +25° in some locations. The weather in the Far East was cold still.

And eventually, April 2026 on the average was quite cold in the ETR, two or more degrees colder than usual in certain places (Kursk, Bryansk, Belgorod, etc.). Temperatures were noticeably higher than normal in the north only (in the Murmansk and Arkhangelsk Region, in Yamal, Novaya Zemlya and the Arctic islands), in parts of the Volga and Urals Federal Districts and in Chukotka. In the rest of Russia, the temperature conditions were close to normal.

April was very warm in East Asia, two to three or more degrees warmer than normal in Mongolia, in the north and north-west of China, in the Korean Peninsula and in Japan. In China, it was the second warmest April in the history of regular meteorological observations. April 2024 remained the warmest month on record there; it was the third warmest in Japan.

The average temperature in the countries of South-East and South Asia was close to normal, yet in some south-eastern locations, notably warmer than that (by 2° or more).

Unseasonably hot weather plumped upon Central Asia, with the monthly temperature average of two to four or more degrees above normal.

In the Middle East, the weather was cold for most of the month: the average air temperatures everywhere from Turkey and Trans-Caucasus to Iraq and Saudi Arabia were below normal, however slightly.

Sub-normal air temperatures were also observed almost in all North Africa, with anomalies down to -2° in some places.

Summer heat prevailed in Western Europe. In France, new air temperature highs were set at a number of points, the thermometer readings rising above +30° in the south-west of the country, or above +25° in Paris. New temperature maxima were recorded in England, and in France, Spain, Portugal and Italy, the average temperature in April was 2-4° higher than normal. The weather in Scandinavia was also markedly warmer than usual. In Spain, this April was the warmest in the history of observations, and in France, it was the third warmest. On the contrary, the weather in Central and Eastern Europe was cold, with sub-normal or close to normal anomalies and with new temperature lows in some places of the latter region. For all that, the monthly-averaged April temperature in the continent was still among the top ten highest for the whole history of observations since 1891.

In North America, abnormal cold in Canada contrasted with warmth in the US. In Canada, very cold weather persisted for the second month in succession, with weaker monthly-averaged anomalies yet. While in March they reached -2…-8°, in April they were only -2…-5°. But the air temperature averages in a large area of the USA were 2-3° above normal, and the month was the third warmest in the history of regular meteorological observations, April 2006 remaining the leader still. The monthly-averaged air temperatures in the eastern states, in the Midwest and in the south were close to record highs, and reached the absolute maxima south of the Great Lakes.

The average air temperature in the Northern Hemisphere was the fifth highest in the ranking list since 1891.

April was cold in Moscow: its average temperature was +5.7°, i.e., 1.2° below the normal value.

Sea Surface Temperature

In April 2026, the monthly-averaged surface temperature of the Pacific Ocean in the Northern Hemisphere reached an all-time maximum, surpassing the previous record-breaking value established in 2024. High positive SST anomalies occupied a significant area of the Ocean, exceeding +2…3° at the tropical and temperate latitudes in the east. Anomalies higher than 2° were observed in the east of the equatorial latitudes off the coast of South America. This circumstance confirmed the presumption on the onset of a new El Niño in the upcoming months.

The average SST anomaly of the Atlantic Ocean was also above-normal, albeit that slightly; anomalies in excess of +1-2° were measured at the subtropical latitudes in the central part of the Ocean, while in the other parts, negative SST anomalies were observed at the same time. The SST in the west of the Mediterranean Sea, in the Bay of Biscay, and in the south of the North and Barents Sea was noticeably higher than normal.

Precipitation

While the weather in May was generally dry in the ETR, the Territory was deluged by rain in April. The precipitation total in most constituent entities of the Federation of the Central, Volga, Southern and North-Caucasian Federal Districts were 1.5-3.0 or more times the normal amount, with record-breaking rains and new daily precipitation maxima in the Kirov, Nizhny Novgorod and Saratov Regions, and in the Republics of Mari El and Crimea. Heavy rains fell in the Volgograd and Astrakhan Regions as well as in Kalmykia, where up to 40 mm of atmospheric moisture accumulated in some places. In the middle of the month, heavy snowfalls occurred in the Upper and Middle Volga regions, as well as in Central Russia, creating a new snow cover up to 20-25 cm high. The Russian North received subnormal precipitation. The monthly precipitation totals in the other entities of the North-Western Federal District (the Kaliningrad, Leningrad and Vologda Regions) exceeded the normal amount by 1.5-2.0 or more times.

In the Urals, precipitation was basically normal. The same was true for the south of the Krasnoyarsk Territory and for Western Siberia, whereas in the rest of the territory, precipitation was subnormal: there, snowfalls continued taking place, and the snow cover could grow by 8-10 cm per day sometimes.

Precipitation was normal in most of the Far East, subnormal in Yakutia and Buryatia only, and noticeably above-normal (about 1.5 times the normal figure) in the Amur Region, in the Primorye and Kamchatka Territories and in the Magadan Region. Intensive precipitation was reported in Kamchatka, where its daily amount in certain places reached 20-30 mm.

The weather in the south and east of China was very rainy, with the total monthly rainfall amount 1.5-3.0 times than the normal one. Precipitation was normal in Japan, and subnormal in Mongolia and in the Korean Peninsula.

In most countries of South-East Asia, the weather was generally dry, but at the same time, heavy rains hit Myanmar; there, the monthly precipitation totals were conspicuously above-normal.

A lot of rain fell in the central and north-western regions of India and in neighbouring Pakistan, while the rainfall was almost zero in the south and north-east of the Hindustan Peninsula.

The weather in Iran was dry, but in the countries of the Middle East, rains were frequent, and precipitation was 1.5-3.0 times the normal quantity.

In Central Asia, rain fell frequently, accumulating up to 1.5-2.0 times the normal April amount in some locations. Intense rainfalls caused devastating floods in Afghanistan at the beginning of the month.

In the west of North Africa and along the Mediterranean coast, precipitation was normal or above that, while in the east, it was scarce. A severe drought tormented Somalia.

Virtually no rain fell in Europe, with only partial rainfalls in Germany, Italy and other countries in the south-east of the continent. This month in Spain and France can be called arid.

Precipitation in Canada was deficient, but was exceptional (three times above normal) in the USA, namely, in the Great Lakes regions, in the north-west of the country, along the Canadian border, and in Texas, with downpours reported as destructive. In the rest of the US, the weather was mostly dry. Many rains fell in Mexico, especially in the north of the country, causing flooding.

In Moscow, the monthly precipitation total was 99 mm. This April was the wettest in the meteorological annals of the capital: the normal precipitation was exceeded by more than 2.5 times. On April 27, a new daily maximum precipitation total was recorded for any day of this month.

Hydrometcentre of Russia