Surface air temperature anomalies for the month of March 2023 in connection with March average for the period 1991-2020. Data source: ERA5. Source: Copernicus Climate Change Service / ECMWF.
Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S)which is implemented by the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts on behalf of the European Commission, routinely publishes monthly climate bulletins reporting on changes observed in the global system. surface air temperatureAnd sea ice And hydrological variables. All reported results are based on computer-generated analyzes using billions of measurements from satellites, ships, aircraft and weather stations around the world.
Temperatures in March 2023:
- March 2023 was the second warmest measured in the world
- Southern and Central Europe had temperatures above average, while northern Europe had temperatures below average
- Temperatures were well above average in a region from northern Africa through southwestern Russia and most of Asia where some new temperatures were recorded
- Most above-average temperatures have been recorded in northeastern North America, Argentina and neighboring countries, large parts of Australia, and in the coastal regions of Antarctica.
- Conversely, it was noticeably cooler over western and central North America
State of sea ice in March 2023:
- Antarctic sea ice extent was the second lowest on record for the month of March, 28 percent below average, after a record low in February.
- Sea ice concentrations were well below average across all sectors of the Southern Ocean.
- The extent of Arctic sea ice was 4 percent below average, tied for fourth above the lowest values recorded in March, but also close to the three lowest.
- In contrast to measured below-average sea ice concentrations in other parts of the Arctic Ocean, concentrations in the Greenland Sea were well above average.
Time series of monthly mean anomalies in Antarctic sea ice extent for all March months From 1979 to 2023. Deviations are expressed as a percentage of March’s average Period 1991-2020. Data source: EUMETSAT OSI SAF Sea Ice Index v2.1. Source: Copernicus Climate Change Service / ECMWF / EUMETSAT.
Comment from Samantha Burgess, Deputy Director of C3S, “After a record low in February, sea ice in Antarctica reached the second-lowest measured March in 45 years, continuing the long-term trend of declining sea ice in the polar regions. Climate monitoring is critical to understanding these rapid and ongoing changes at both poles.
Left: Antarctica’s mean sea ice concentration for March 2023. The thick orange line indicates the climate ice edge for He walks for this period 1991-2020. Right: Anomaly in Antarctic sea ice concentration In March 2023 Closely related b March average for this period 1991-2020. Data source: ERA5. Source: Copernicus Climate Change Service / ECMWF.
Hydrological highlights in March 2023:
- In March 2023, there was more precipitation than usual in a west-northeast band across northern Europe and across Turkey.
- Areas that experienced drier-than-usual conditions in March 2023 were most of the Iberian Peninsula, where there was a risk of wildfires, the Alps, parts of central Europe, the eastern Balkans, and the northwest coast of the Caspian Sea.
- Outside of Europe, March 2023 saw above-average precipitation over parts of the United States, much of Asia, the Horn of Africa, New Zealand, northern Australia, and parts of South Africa and Brazil. In many areas, heavy rainfall has led to flooding.
- It was drier than normal across Argentina, which experienced continued drought, southern Australia, southwestern Africa and parts of Asia. In many cases, these conditions have been associated with warmer-than-average temperatures.
Precipitation anomalies, surface air relative humidity, volumetric moisture content in the top 7 cm of soil and surface air temperature in He walks 2023 With respect in the March averages for this period 1991-2020. Dark gray shading indicates places where soil moisture is not shown due to ice cover or climatically low precipitation. Data source: ERA5 Source: Copernicus Climate Change Service / ECMWF.
Video materials accompanying the maps are available here.
More information about February weather changes, climate updates from previous months, HD graphics and video can be downloaded here.
Answers to frequently asked questions about temperature monitoring Existing here.
Information about the C3S dataset and how to compile it
Temperature and hydrology maps and data are from the ERA5 data of the ECMWF’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.
Sea ice maps and data are drawn from a combination of information from ERA5, as well as from EUMETSAT OSI SAF Sea Ice Index v2.1, Sea Ice Concentration CDR/ICDR v2 and fast-track data provided on request by OSI SAF.
The listed regional averages have the following latitude/longitude limits:
First Earth, 180W-180E, 90S-90N. In total.
Europe, 25W-40E, 34N-72N, Overland only.
More information is available here.
Information on national data and impact
Information on national data and impact is based on national and regional reports. For more details see each month’s temperature and hydrological C3S Climate Bulletin.
C3S followed the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) recommendation to use the latest 30-year period for calculating climate averages and changed to the 1991-2020 reference period for C3S Climate Bullets covering January 2021 onwards. Figures and graphics for both the new and previous period (1981-2010) have been provided for the sake of transparency.
More information about the reference period used is available here.
About Copernicus and the ECMWF
Copernicus is part of the European Union’s space program, funded by the European Union, which is the flagship program for Earth observation. The company operates through six thematic services: Atmosphere, Marine, Land, Climate Change, Security and Emergencies. It offers freely available operational data and services that provide users with reliable and up-to-date information about our planet and its environment. The program is coordinated and managed by the European Commission and implemented in partnership with Member States, the European Space Agency (ESA), the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT), the European Center for Medium Distance Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), EU agencies, Mercator Océan and others.
The ECMWF operates two services of the European Union’s Copernicus Earth Observing Programme: the Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Service (CAMS) and the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S). They also contribute to the Copernicus Emergency Management Service (CEMS), which is implemented by the European Union Joint Research Council (JRC). The European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) is an independent intergovernmental organization supported by 35 countries. It is a 24/7 operational and research institute that produces and disseminates digital weather forecasts to its member states. This data is fully available to the national meteorological services of the Member States. The supercomputer facility (and associated data archive) at the ECMWF is one of the largest of its kind in Europe and member states can use 25 percent of its capacity for their own purposes.
ECMWF has expanded the number of locations in which it operates. In addition to the UK headquarters and computing center in Italy, new offices focusing on activities carried out in partnership with the European Union, such as Copernicus, will be located in Bonn, Germany.
Copernicus Atmosphere Observing Service Networkhttp://atmosphere.copernicus.eu/
Copernicus Climate Change Networkhttps://climate.copernicus.eu/
More information about Copernicus:www.copernicus.eu
ECMWF website:https://www.ecmwf.int/
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