Tenth consecutive record: March 2024 becomes warmest ever recorded

March 2024 was officially the warmest month of March globally on record, marking the tenth consecutive month to set a record.

March ended with an average surface air temperature of 14.14°C, this is 0.73°C warmer than the long-term average between 1991-2020.

The temperature is also 0.10°C warmer than the previous hottest March in 2016. Looking further back, 14.14°C marks a 1.68°C rise from the 1850-1900 average.

The record marks the tenth month in a row to set a new average high.

In Europe the heat was more pronounced with average temperatures 2.12°C warmer than the 1991-2020 average.

Despite this, it was not the warmest March in Europe, where the record is held by March 2014 which saw a marginally higher average by 0.02°C.

Though some countries, including Germany and the Netherlands, recorded national record high averages. This was not the case in the UK or Ireland.

The temperatures had an effect too. In North America, March began with a record low level of ice cover in the Great Lakes, while drought continued to reduce shipping paths through the Panama Canal.

Some areas did see below-average temperatures, including western areas of the USA, central Canada, and parts of Antarctica amid others.