March 2026 in Kazakhstan was marked by the contrasting nature of the weather.
At the beginning of the month, frosts persisted in most of the country, which was due to the influx of cold air masses from the areas of the Taimyr Peninsula. In most parts of the country, a decrease in the background temperature was observed at night: in the west of the country to -25 ° C, in the northwest, north, center and east to -35 ° C, in the south to -20 ° C. On some days, temperature records were recorded. For example, on March 10, the temperature at the Petropavlovsk meteorological station (hereinafter – MS) was -34.3°C, thereby updating the century-old absolute minimum set in 1917 (-30.5°C). However, in the third decade, spring confidently came into its own: by the end of the month, it was significantly warmer, and new records were set. So, on March 21, the Atyrau MS recorded an air temperature of +21.6°C, which is higher than the previous absolute maximum in 2001 (+18.2°C). On the same day, a noticeable warming was observed in Aktobe MS - the air warmed up to +11.9°C, surpassing the record of 2013 (+8.1°C). On March 24, the temperature in Petropavlovsk was +7.3°C, surpassing the previous maximum recorded in 1995 (+6.6°C). On March 25, Atyrau was +23.5°C, the record of 2023 was updated (+22.8°C), and Kokshetau was +10.6°C, which is higher than the record of 2001 (+9.4°C). On March 26, the Kokshetau MS thermometer reached +15.1°C, which is higher than the previous absolute maximum of 2009 (+12.3°C). In the period from March 27 to March 31, record temperatures were also recorded at several weather stations. On March 27, at Kokshetau MS +16.5°C (2008: +14.7°C), at Petropavlovsk MS +14.5°C (2008: +10.8°C), at Turkestan MS +31.5°C (2001: +27.1°C); on March 28, at Atyrau MS +24.5 (2023: +22.6°C), MS Kokshetau +17.9°C (2008: +12.8°C), MS Petropavlovsk +17.0°C (2023: +13.0°C); March 29 at MS Uralsk +22.7°C (2020: +18.9°C); On March 30, Atyrau MS +24.8°C (2023: +24.6°C), Zhezkazgan MS +24.4°C (2008: +20.4°C).
At the beginning of the month, the weather in the country was determined by cyclones, and in the middle troposphere by the depression of a high-altitude cyclone. With the passage of the frontal sections, unstable weather patterns were observed in almost the entire territory of the country, precipitation was heavy in the southern part of the country. For example, on March 04, 17 mm fell on Turara Ryskulova village (Turkestan region), on March 10 – 27 mm (norm: 86 mm), on Tasaryk village (Turkestan region) on March 04 – 18 mm, on March 10 – 29 mm (norm: 98 mm), on Kazygurt village (Turkestan region) on March 04 – 16 mm, on March 05 - 18 mm, on March 10 – 30 mm (norm: 67 mm).
In the capital, the average monthly air temperature was 3.5° above normal, with a norm of -6.0°C. The lowest air temperature was recorded on March 01 and amounted to -24.5 °C, the highest air temperature was recorded on March 31 and amounted to +16.7°C. Precipitation fell 23.7 mm, with a monthly rate of 20 mm, which is 118%.
