Home/BlogMarch 2026 was record-warm for the Lower 48.
The Version 6.1 global average lower tropospheric temperature (LT) anomaly for March, 2026 was +0.38 deg. C departure from the 1991-2020 mean, statistically unchanged from the February, 2026 value of +0.39 deg. C.
The Version 6.1 global area-averaged linear temperature trend (January 1979 through March 2026) remains at +0.16 deg/ C/decade (+0.22 C/decade over land, +0.13 C/decade over oceans).
The following table lists various regional Version 6.1 LT departures from the 30-year (1991-2020) average for the last 27 months (record highs are in red).
| YEAR | MO | GLOBE | NHEM | SHEM | TROPIC | USA48 | ARCTIC | AUST |
| 2024 | Jan | +0.80 | +1.02 | +0.57 | +1.20 | -0.19 | +0.40 | +1.12 |
| 2024 | Feb | +0.88 | +0.94 | +0.81 | +1.16 | +1.31 | +0.85 | +1.16 |
| 2024 | Mar | +0.88 | +0.96 | +0.80 | +1.25 | +0.22 | +1.05 | +1.34 |
| 2024 | Apr | +0.94 | +1.12 | +0.76 | +1.15 | +0.86 | +0.88 | +0.54 |
| 2024 | May | +0.77 | +0.77 | +0.78 | +1.20 | +0.04 | +0.20 | +0.52 |
| 2024 | June | +0.69 | +0.78 | +0.60 | +0.85 | +1.36 | +0.63 | +0.91 |
| 2024 | July | +0.73 | +0.86 | +0.61 | +0.96 | +0.44 | +0.56 | -0.07 |
| 2024 | Aug | +0.75 | +0.81 | +0.69 | +0.74 | +0.40 | +0.88 | +1.75 |
| 2024 | Sep | +0.81 | +1.04 | +0.58 | +0.82 | +1.31 | +1.48 | +0.98 |
| 2024 | Oct | +0.75 | +0.89 | +0.60 | +0.63 | +1.89 | +0.81 | +1.09 |
| 2024 | Nov | +0.64 | +0.87 | +0.40 | +0.53 | +1.11 | +0.79 | +1.00 |
| 2024 | Dec | +0.61 | +0.75 | +0.47 | +0.52 | +1.41 | +1.12 | +1.54 |
| 2025 | Jan | +0.45 | +0.70 | +0.21 | +0.24 | -1.07 | +0.74 | +0.48 |
| 2025 | Feb | +0.50 | +0.55 | +0.45 | +0.26 | +1.03 | +2.10 | +0.87 |
| 2025 | Mar | +0.57 | +0.73 | +0.41 | +0.40 | +1.24 | +1.23 | +1.20 |
| 2025 | Apr | +0.61 | +0.76 | +0.46 | +0.36 | +0.81 | +0.85 | +1.21 |
| 2025 | May | +0.50 | +0.45 | +0.55 | +0.30 | +0.15 | +0.75 | +0.98 |
| 2025 | June | +0.48 | +0.48 | +0.47 | +0.30 | +0.80 | +0.05 | +0.39 |
| 2025 | July | +0.36 | +0.49 | +0.23 | +0.45 | +0.32 | +0.40 | +0.53 |
| 2025 | Aug | +0.39 | +0.39 | +0.39 | +0.16 | -0.06 | +0.82 | +0.11 |
| 2025 | Sep | +0.53 | +0.56 | +0.49 | +0.35 | +0.38 | +0.77 | +0.30 |
| 2025 | Oct | +0.53 | +0.52 | +0.55 | +0.24 | +1.12 | +1.42 | +1.67 |
| 2025 | Nov | +0.43 | +0.59 | +0.27 | +0.24 | +1.32 | +0.78 | +0.36 |
| 2025 | Dec | +0.30 | +0.45 | +0.15 | +0.19 | +2.10 | +0.32 | +0.37 |
| 2026 | Jan | +0.35 | +0.51 | +0.19 | +0.09 | +0.30 | +1.40 | +0.95 |
| 2026 | Feb | +0.39 | +0.54 | +0.23 | +0.03 | +1.91 | -0.48 | +0.73 |
| 2026 | Mar | +0.38 | +0.33 | +0.42 | +0.07 | +3.74 | -0.48 | +1.14 |
| YEAR | MO | GLOBE | NHEM | SHEM | TROPIC | USA48 | ARCTIC | AUST |
Record Warmth in the Contiguous U.S. (Lower 48)
For the Lower 48, the March 2026 temperature anomaly was easily the record warmest of all months in the 47+ year satellite record: +3.7 deg. C above average for all Marches. Second place goes to March 2012, with +2.2 deg. C above the mean, while 3rd place goes to December 2025 at +2.1 deg. C.
Interestingly, December through April are periods of large variability for the Lower 48. All 6 of the warmest months (in terms of departures from normal) since 1979 occurred in December through April. Furthermore, all 8 of the coldest months occurred in December through April.
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The full UAH Global Temperature Report, along with the LT global gridpoint anomaly map for March, 2026 and a more detailed analysis by John Christy, should be available within the next several days here.
The monthly anomalies for various regions for the four deep layers we monitor from satellites will be available in the next several days at the following locations:
5th warmest March in the UAH data set, statistically tied with 2010 at 4th place.
Year Anomaly
1 2024 0.88
2 2016 0.64
3 2025 0.57
4 2010 0.39
5 2026 0.38
6 1998 0.35
7 2020 0.34
8 2004 0.23
9 2019 0.22
10 2017 0.18
10=2022 0.18
I thought March would be slightly warmer, maybe even up to +0.42C. The Polar Vortex is moving to the South Pole, and ENSO has been warming for about a month.
So the +0.38C is interesting, as the cooling trend appears healthy.
A couple of thoughts relative to that cooling trend.
1) We’ve seen cooling from the March/April time frame into Jun/Jul over the last couple of years. If that happens again in 2026, it would bring the anomaly below 0.2 C. That would be quite interesting to see.
2) My theory is the AMO index is driven by Arctic changes. The current cooling seen in the satellite data could be evidence that next 30+ year AMO cool phase has started and the AMO index will soon follow. This would also drive some global cooling.
Of course, it also appears El Nino will show up later this year which will drive warmer global temperatures over the fall and winter. El Nino is really an ocean cooling period but the energy movement temporarily warms the SSTs and air. This would mask some of the cooling, but set the stage for more dramatic atmospheric cooling in 2027.
Below normal here in the Vancouver, Canada area. After a mild winter, spring has proved to be quite cool.