--- title: Climate Change: March Breaks Warming Temperature Records description: Last month was the hottest March since record keeping began, the eleventh such consecutive record canonical: https://time.com/4296481/march-record-temperatures/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-04-15T20:54:13.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:55:51.037Z article:section: Science og:title: Climate Change: March Breaks Warming Temperature Records og:description: Last month was the hottest March since record keeping began, the eleventh such consecutive record og:url: https://time.com/4296481/march-record-temperatures/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8f32053ca0b6fef1/69888f550a4a2249f39c9430/record-warm-weather.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: Spring weather Mar 25th 2016. People enjoying the sun sitting in deckchairs on Bournemouth beach. Picture date: Friday March 25, 2016. See PA story WEATHER Easter. Photo credit should read: Andrew Matthews/PA Wire URN:25916481 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Climate Change: March Breaks Warming Temperature Records twitter:description: Last month was the hottest March since record keeping began, the eleventh such consecutive record twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8f32053ca0b6fef1/69888f550a4a2249f39c9430/record-warm-weather.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # This March Was Hottest on Record by a Large Margin > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Future Proof: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Future Proof is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Making sense of the climate and energy economy. Future Proof examines the forces transforming energy and climate, and what those changes mean for business, technology, policy and the global economy. Senior correspondent Justin Worland goes beyond traditional climate coverage to connect the energy transition to the bigger decisions reshaping companies, markets and society. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-futureproof-2026q3/newsletters?i=3f93bdf0-e5b8-4740-878b-ab56fe9f6bc1&cr=time-nl-futureproof-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Friday (1x per week) | TIME, August 2026 | | Subscribers | 40,000 | TIME, August 2026 | | Open rate | 34.2% | TIME, August 2026 | | Click rate | 2.1% | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Justin Worland, Senior Correspondent | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership Senior leaders shaping the climate transition. 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It reaches 40,000 subscribers with a 34.2% open rate and a 2.1% click rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Climate Central: Tornado-Chasing Scientists [Watch (HLS stream): Climate Central: Tornado-Chasing Scientists](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/h0sGvtfE.m3u8) (1:21)  _Published 2010-06-07. Dr. Heidi Cullen explains how scientists who chase twisters collect groundbreaking new data that will likely result in better forecasting_  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Apr 15, 2016 8:54 PM UTC  People enjoying the sun on Bournemouth beach, U.K., on Mar. 25, 2016. People enjoying the sun on Bournemouth beach, U.K., on Mar. 25, 2016.Andrew Matthews—PA Wire/Press Association Images/AP  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Apr 15, 2016 8:54 PM UTC Last month was the hottest March since record keeping began, the eleventh such consecutive record, according to reports released this week. Average global temperatures last month were 1.07 °C (1.9°F) above the average in March since 1891, according to [data](http://ds.data.jma.go.jp/tcc/tcc/products/gwp/temp/mar%5Fwld.html) from the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA). Separate [data released by NASA](http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/tabledata%5Fv3/GLB.Ts.txt) shows that March was 1.65°C (3.0°F) warmer than the average between 1951 and 1980\. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the primary keeper of such data in the U.S., will release its numbers next week. March may have also been the most above-average temperature month of all time, but preliminary agency data is inconsistent on that record. February of this year [broke that record](http://time.com/4261719/february-heat-records-climate-change/) by a dramatic margin. The temperature record was likely driven by the ongoing, but now fading, [El Niño climate phenomenon](http://time.com/3996227/el-nino-forecast/) that raises global temperatures and wrecks havoc on global weather patterns as well as ongoing climate change. Scientists [widely expect](http://time.com/4154331/warmest-year-2016-climate-change-el-nino/) 2016 to be the hottest year on record. The string of records, and the scale at which they are being broken, are raising fears that the world is approaching the 2°C (3.6°F) level of warming above preindustrial levels that scientists say could bring about catastrophic and irreversible consequences. Keeping temperature rise below that threshold has been enshrined in the language of climate scientists and international agreements on climate change, including the [Paris Agreement](http://time.com/4146764/paris-agreement-climate-cop-21/) reached last year. Recent temperature spikes underscore how difficult meeting that target may be. “If we continue to burn fossil fuels and increase the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, we will assume that this level of warmth will be perpetual,” said Michael Mann, professor of atmospheric science at Pennsylvania State University, [after last month’s record](http://time.com/4261719/february-heat-records-climate-change/). “This is a reminder that we need to need to decarbonize.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4296481/march-record-temperatures/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4296481/march-record-temperatures/"},"headline":"This March Was Hottest on Record by a Large Margin","datePublished":"2016-04-15T20:54:13.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:55:51.037Z","description":"It was the 11th month in row to be the hottest such month on record","url":"https://time.com/4296481/march-record-temperatures/","keywords":["climate change"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8f32053ca0b6fef1/69888f550a4a2249f39c9430/record-warm-weather.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8f32053ca0b6fef1/69888f550a4a2249f39c9430/record-warm-weather.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Spring weather Mar 25th 2016. 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