Bonn, 10/04/2026

Global temperature

  • March 2026 was the fourth-warmest March globally, with an average surface air temperature of 13.94°C, 0.53°C above the 1991-2020 average for March, according to the ERA5 dataset. The warmest March on record was in 2024.
  • March 2026 was 1.48°C above the estimated 1850-1900 average used to define the pre-industrial level.

Europe and other regions

  • The average temperature over European land for March 2026 was the second-warmest at 5.88°C, 2.27°C above the 1991-2020 average for March. The warmest March on record was in 2025.
  • Almost the whole of Europe experienced warmer-than-average temperatures, with the most pronounced warm conditions occurring over northwest Russia, northern Fennoscandia, and the Baltic States. Slightly cooler-than-average conditions were seen over Türkiye, southern Europe, and most of Iceland.
  • Outside Europe, warmer-than-average temperatures were most pronounced across the United States – where a prolonged heatwave affected the western part of the country – as well as much of the Arctic, northeast Russia, and parts of Antarctica. In contrast, unusually cold conditions occurred across Alaska, most of Canada, southern Greenland, and northwest Siberia.

Sea surface temperature

  • The average sea surface temperature (SST) for March 2026 over 60°S–60°N was 20.97°C, the second-highest value on record for the month. The warmest March on record was in 2024 during the last El Niño event.

  • A transition from neutral to El Niño conditions is forecast by many climate centres for the second half of the year.

  • The daily SST steadily increased throughout March and is approaching the record values set in 2024.

  • In the Arctic, the average sea ice extent in March was 5.7% below average, the lowest on record for the month, but only marginally below the previous March record set in 2025 (5.6% below average).

  • The daily Arctic sea ice extent reached its joint lowest winter maximum, tied with the winter maximum recorded in March 2025.

  • Regionally, sea ice cover was most below average in the northern Barents Sea and Svalbard region, and in the Sea of Okhotsk, both of which experienced much warmer-than-average conditions during the month.

  • In the Antarctic, the monthly sea ice extent was 10% below the March average, ranking outside the ten lowest for the month, coming after four years of much larger negative anomalies in March (20% to 33% below average).

  • Much of continental Europe saw drier-than-average conditions. In contrast, Iceland, the northern UK, much of Scandinavia, many regions in the Mediterranean and the Caucasus were wetter than average. In some cases, heavy precipitation, often associated with the transit of storms, led to flooding.

  • Outside Europe, wetter-than-average extratropical regions included eastern and western USA and Canada, large parts of Australia, southern Chile, eastern Brazil, parts of the Middle East, and parts of eastern Asia and southeastern Africa. Drier-than-average regions included southern USA and northern Mexico, southeastern China, parts of South America, and western Australia.

  • End –

More information about climate variables in March 2026 and climate updates of previous months as well as high-resolution graphics can be downloadedhere.

  • Answers to frequently asked questions regarding temperature monitoring can be foundhere.
  • Follow near-real-time data for the globe on Climate Pulsehere.
  • More on trends and projections on Climate Atlashere.
  • Access key datasets easily with the new tool ERA Explorer Apphere.

Temperature and hydrological maps and data are from ECMWF Copernicus Climate Change Service’s ERA5 and ERA5-Land (surface soil moisture) datasets.

The findings about global sea surface temperatures (SSTs) presented here are based on SST data from ERA5 averaged over the 60°S–60°N domain. Note that ERA5 SSTs are estimates of the ocean temperature at about 10m depth (known as foundation temperature). The results may differ from other SST products providing temperature estimates at different depths.

Sea ice maps and data are from a combination of information from ERA5, as well as from the EUMETSAT OSI SAF Sea Ice Index v2.3.

Regional area averages quoted here are the following longitude/latitude bounds:

Globe, 180W-180E, 90S-90N, over land and ocean surfaces.

Europe, 25W-40E, 34N-72N, over land surfaces only.

More information about the data can be foundhere.

Information on national records and impacts is based on national and regional reports. For details see the respective temperature and hydrologicalC3S climate bulletinfor the month.

C3S has followed the recommendation of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) to use the most recent 30-year period for calculating climatological averages and changed to the reference period of 1991-2020 for its C3S Climate Bulletins covering January 2021 onward.

More information on the reference period used can be foundhere.

More information on Copernicus:www.copernicus.eu

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Surface air temperature for March 2026

Hydrological variables for March 2026

Sea ice cover for March 2026