MOSCOW, March 31. /TASS/. The outgoing month of March was the hottest on record in the 247-year history of meteorological observations in Moscow; it also broke the record for the number of sunny days and was marked by an unusually low amount of precipitation, the Geography Department of the Moscow State University reported.
"March 2026 was the warmest on record in Moscow in the 247 years of regular observations, dating back to 1779. According to data from the Moscow State University Meteorological Observatory, the average monthly air temperature was 5.7 degrees last month, surpassing the previous March record of 4.9 degrees, set in 2007, by nearly a full degree," the statement said.
In addition to record-high air temperatures, the first spring month of 2026 became the sunniest March in Moscow since at least 1958.
"By the afternoon of March 31, the duration of sunshine had already reached 223 hours, far exceeding the record value for this month (208 hours), which was set in 1996," Mikhail Lokoshchenko, a leading researcher at the Meteorology and Climatology Department, pointed out.
March also turned out to be unusually dry, with monthly precipitation totaling less than 13 mm - one-third of the climate norm. Scientists also noted exceptionally low cloud cover, measuring less than three points.