The combined global land and ocean average surface temperature for March 2011 was the 13th warmest on record at 55.78 F (13.19 C), which is 0.88 F (0.49 C) above the 20th century average of 54.9 F (12.7 C). The margin of error associated with this temperature is +/- 0.13 F (0.07 C).

Separately, the global land surface temperature was 1.49 F (0.83 C) above the 20th century average of 40.8 F (5.0 C), and tied for the 12th warmest March on record. The margin of error is +/- 0.15 F (0.27 C).Warmer-than-average conditions occurred across most of Siberia, southwestern Greenland, southern North America, and most of Africa. Cooler-than-average regions included: most of Australia, the western half of Canada, most of Mongolia, China, and southeastern Asia.

The March global ocean surface temperature was 0.65 F (0.36 C) above the 20th century average of 60.7 F (15.9 C), making it the 12th warmest March on record. The margin of error is +/- 0.07 F (0.04 C). The warmth was most pronounced in the equatorial Atlantic, the western Pacific Ocean, and across the Southern Hemisphere mid-latitudes.

The combined global land and ocean average surface temperature for the year to date (January 2011 – March 2011) was 0.77 F (0.43 C) above the 20th century average of 54.1 F (12.3 C), making it the 14th warmest such period on record. The margin of error is +/- 0.16 F (0.09 C).

The year-to-date worldwide land surface temperature was 1.08 F (0.60 C) above the 20th century average — the 21st warmest such period on record. The margin of error is +/- 0.41 F (0.23 C). Warmer-than-average conditions occurred across northern Alaska, far northwestern Canada, southern Greenland and northern Siberia. Cooler-than-average regions included most of Europe, western Russia, Mongolia, much of China, Australia, and part of central North America.

The global ocean surface temperature for the year to date was 0.65 F (0.36 C) above the 20th century average and was the 12th warmest such period on record. The margin of error is +/-0.07 F (0.04 C). The warmth was most pronounced across parts of the central western Pacific Ocean, the tropical Atlantic Ocean, the North Atlantic near Greenland and Canada, and the southern mid-latitude oceans.

La Niña conditions continued to weaken in March for the third consecutive month, although sea-surface temperatures remained below normal across the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean. According to NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, La Niña will continue to have global impacts through the Northern Hemisphere spring, but neither La Nina nor El Nino conditions are expected by June.

The average high temperatures were the coolest on record for March across Australia. The Northern Territory and the state of South Australia experienced their coldest average maximum temperature in the 62-year period of record while Queensland was the lowest on record since 1971. Within the state of Western Australia, the eastern portion had its coolest March on record while its southwest had its warmest.