Places to avoid in March

In March, 159 well-known destinations sit inside a hazard season: monsoon in 38 (Kakadu, Yogyakarta, Quito and 35 more), cyclone season in 18 (Kakadu, Nadi, Nosy Be and 15 more), flood season in 16 (Uluru, Foz do Iguaçu, Hamburg and 13 more) and dust season in 21 (Sierra Nevada, Ulaanbaatar, Málaga and 18 more). By the numbers, of 1,387 destinations, 161 feel like 35 °C or more in the afternoon, 256 have 18 or more rainy days, 41 have poor air and 24 sit well below freezing. 7 well-known places are at peak crowds and 1 is partly closed for the season.

Not a forecast: these are the seasons in which the risk exists, and the climate normals for the month. Most weeks pass quietly; the numbers say how often they do not.

Hazard seasons on in March

Curated, sourced windows — hurricane, typhoon and cyclone seasons, the monsoon, smoke, floods, smog. Well-known places first, the month's lowest scores at the top.

Monsoon on

52 places

The wet season proper — heavy, daily, and the reason prices fall.

  1. Kakadu 🇦🇺 AustraliaMonsoon, 1 Nov – 31 May (usually) · instead July42
  2. Yogyakarta 🇮🇩 IndonesiaMonsoon, 1 Nov – 31 Mar (usually) — Long afternoon storms roll off Merapi and the Prambanan open-air stage moves indoors for the season. · instead July49
  3. Quito 🇪🇨 EcuadorMonsoon, 1 Oct – 31 May (usually) · instead August57
  4. Nosy Be 🇲🇬 MadagascarMonsoon, 1 Dec – 31 Mar (usually) — Heavy afternoon rain, dive visibility down and a good share of the smaller hotels closed until after Easter. · instead July60
  5. Sossusvlei 🇳🇦 NamibiaMonsoon, 1 Jan – 31 Mar (usually) · instead July64
  6. Labuan Bajo 🇮🇩 IndonesiaMonsoon, 1 Dec – 15 Mar (usually) · instead August65

…and 46 more, 32 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own March verdict.

Cyclone season on

51 places

The southern-hemisphere storm season.

  1. Kakadu 🇦🇺 AustraliaCyclone season, 1 Nov – 30 Apr — Systems crossing the Top End coast bring days of torrential rain and wind rather than a direct blow. · instead July42
  2. Nadi 🇫🇯 FijiCyclone season, 1 Nov – 30 Apr — The South Pacific storm season, at its most active in January and February. · instead July59
  3. Nosy Be 🇲🇬 MadagascarCyclone season, 15 Dec – 31 Mar (usually) · instead July60
  4. Port Douglas 🇦🇺 AustraliaCyclone season, 1 Nov – 30 Apr — November to April brings the rain and the cyclone risk together. · instead September60
  5. Cairns 🇦🇺 AustraliaCyclone season, 1 Nov – 30 Apr — November to April is the cyclone half of the year. · instead October66
  6. Antananarivo 🇲🇬 MadagascarCyclone season, 15 Nov – 15 Apr (usually) · instead September71

…and 45 more, 12 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own March verdict.

Flood season on

39 places

The river comes into the streets most years.

  1. Uluru 🇦🇺 AustraliaFlood season, 1 Dec – 15 Mar (usually) · instead July55
  2. Foz do Iguaçu 🇧🇷 BrazilFlood season, 1 Nov – 30 Apr (usually) · instead July59
  3. Hamburg 🇩🇪 GermanyFlood season, 15 Sep – 31 Mar — The city counts its storm tide season from mid-September to the end of March. · instead August65
  4. Cincinnati 🇺🇸 United StatesFlood season, 1 Feb – 15 Apr (usually) · instead September66
  5. Cologne 🇩🇪 GermanyFlood season, 1 Dec – 31 Mar (usually) · instead June67
  6. Aguas Calientes 🇵🇪 PeruFlood season, 1 Jan – 31 Mar (usually) · instead July68

…and 33 more, 10 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own March verdict.

Dust season on

35 places

Spring dust and sandstorms; sensitive lungs stay in.

  1. Sierra Nevada 🇪🇸 SpainDust season, 15 Feb – 15 Jun (usually) · instead January51
  2. Ulaanbaatar 🇲🇳 MongoliaDust season, 15 Mar – 31 May (usually) · instead June53
  3. Málaga 🇪🇸 SpainDust season, 1 Mar – 31 Aug (usually) · instead September73
  4. Fukuoka 🇯🇵 JapanDust season, 1 Mar – 15 May (usually) — Dust off the Asian mainland reaches Kyushu first and the worst days leave a film on parked cars. · instead October74
  5. Seoul 🇰🇷 South KoreaDust season, 1 Mar – 15 May (usually) — Spring brings the worst air of the year, part local, part dust and pollution blown in from the west. · instead May74
  6. Beijing 🇨🇳 ChinaDust season, 1 Mar – 15 May (usually) · instead April77

…and 29 more, 15 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own March verdict.

Smoke season on

31 places

Burning fields or forests; the air, not the weather, is the problem.

  1. San Carlos de Bariloche 🇦🇷 ArgentinaSmoke season, 1 Dec – 31 Mar (usually) · instead July19
  2. Ulaanbaatar 🇲🇳 MongoliaSmoke season, 1 Nov – 31 Mar · instead June53
  3. Bangkok 🇹🇭 ThailandSmoke season, 25 Jan – 15 Apr (usually) — Agricultural fires north and west of the city put a lid of smoke over Bangkok through the late dry season. · instead December60
  4. Almaty 🇰🇿 KazakhstanSmoke season, 15 Nov – 1 Mar (usually) — Coal heating and a valley inversion pin the smoke over the city for weeks at a time once the cold sets in. · instead September63
  5. Chiang Mai 🇹🇭 ThailandSmoke season, 1 Feb – 20 Apr (usually) · instead January65
  6. Luang Prabang 🇱🇦 LaosSmoke season, 1 Mar – 30 Apr (usually) · instead December70

…and 25 more, 10 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own March verdict.

Storm season on

18 places

Tornadoes, derechos, hail — the afternoons to watch the sky.

  1. Svolvær 🇳🇴 NorwayStorm season, 15 Oct – 15 Mar (usually) · instead July39
  2. Tórshavn Faroe IslandsStorm season, 1 Oct – 31 Mar (usually) · instead July60
  3. Brisbane 🇦🇺 AustraliaStorm season, 1 Nov – 30 Apr — Queensland's storm season runs November to April. · instead September64
  4. St. Louis 🇺🇸 United StatesStorm season, 15 Mar – 15 Jun (usually) · instead May69
  5. Kolkata 🇮🇳 IndiaStorm season, 20 Mar – 20 May (usually) · instead January71
  6. Nashville 🇺🇸 United StatesStorm season, 15 Mar – 20 May (usually) · instead May73

…and 12 more, 7 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own March verdict.

Avalanche season on

16 places

Backcountry and passes on forecast; the weeks the road closes after a dump.

  1. Aviemore 🇬🇧 United KingdomAvalanche season, 15 Dec – 15 Apr (usually) · instead January62
  2. Rocky Mountain National Park 🇺🇸 United StatesAvalanche season, 15 Oct – 15 Jun (usually) — From mid-autumn into early summer steep snow slopes above popular trails such as Emerald Lake can slide. · instead August62
  3. Mestia 🇬🇪 GeorgiaAvalanche season, 15 Nov – 15 May (usually) · instead September67
  4. Fort William 🇬🇧 United KingdomAvalanche season, 15 Dec – 15 Apr (usually) — The Lochaber forecast runs from mid-December to mid-April and covers Ben Nevis and the Aonachs. · instead May68
  5. Kazbegi 🇬🇪 GeorgiaAvalanche season, 1 Dec – 15 Apr (usually) · instead September71
  6. Berchtesgaden 🇩🇪 GermanyAvalanche season, 1 Jan – 15 Apr (usually) · instead September76

…and 10 more, 9 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own March verdict.

Winter smog on

14 places

Coal smoke and a valley inversion; the air, not the cold, is the problem.

  1. Warsaw 🇵🇱 PolandWinter smog, 1 Nov – 15 Mar (usually) · instead June64
  2. Kraków 🇵🇱 PolandWinter smog, 1 Nov – 15 Mar (usually) · instead June65
  3. Zakopane 🇵🇱 PolandWinter smog, 15 Nov – 15 Mar (usually) · instead January69
  4. Belgrade 🇷🇸 SerbiaWinter smog, 1 Nov – 15 Mar (usually) · instead May74
  5. Turin 🇮🇹 ItalyWinter smog, 1 Oct – 31 Mar — The city sits in a bowl with the Alps on three sides, and winter inversions trap particulates for days. · instead September74
  6. Łódź 🇵🇱 PolandWinter smog, 1 Nov – 15 Mar (usually) · instead June64

…and 8 more, all lesser-known. Every destination page carries its own March verdict.

Extreme cold on

12 places

The weeks the city stops going outside — dzud, ice storms, minus thirty.

  1. Detroit 🇺🇸 United StatesExtreme cold, 10 Dec – 1 Mar (usually) — Two months of grey, freezing days with the wind coming off the lakes and a snow event most weeks. · instead September62
  2. Cleveland 🇺🇸 United StatesExtreme cold, 15 Nov – 15 Mar · instead September63
  3. Cradle Mountain 🇦🇺 AustraliaExtreme cold, 1 Jan – 31 Dec — Snow falls on this plateau in every month of the year and the summit track can be a whiteout in January. · instead January82
  4. Soldeu 🇦🇩 AndorraExtreme cold, 1 Dec – 31 Mar · instead January83
  5. Magadan 🇷🇺 RussiaExtreme cold, 1 Dec – 5 Mar (usually) · instead July39
  6. Yakutsk 🇷🇺 RussiaExtreme cold, 20 Nov – 5 Mar (usually) · instead June40

…and 6 more, all lesser-known. Every destination page carries its own March verdict.

Extreme heat on

8 places

The weeks the city lives indoors.

  1. Uluru 🇦🇺 AustraliaExtreme heat, 1 Nov – 31 Mar (usually) · instead July55
  2. Yangon 🇲🇲 MyanmarExtreme heat, 1 Mar – 15 May (usually) · instead January59
  3. Hyderabad 🇮🇳 IndiaExtreme heat, 20 Mar – 5 Jun (usually) — Heat advisories start in late March and the middle of the day goes indoors until the rains break. · instead January62
  4. Bengaluru 🇮🇳 IndiaExtreme heat, 1 Mar – 25 May (usually) · instead January79
  5. Adelaide 🇦🇺 AustraliaExtreme heat, 15 Nov – 15 Mar (usually) · instead November92
  6. N'Djamena 🇹🇩 ChadExtreme heat, 20 Mar – 10 Jun (usually) · instead January43

…and 2 more, all lesser-known. Every destination page carries its own March verdict.

Landslide season on

5 places

The hill roads slip and shut for days; getting there, not being there, is the problem.

  1. Big Sur 🇺🇸 United StatesLandslide season, 1 Dec – 15 Apr (usually) · instead August68
  2. Tilcara 🇦🇷 ArgentinaLandslide season, 1 Jan – 31 Mar (usually) · instead August67
  3. Blantyre 🇲🇼 MalawiLandslide season, 1 Jan – 31 Mar (usually) · instead August68
  4. San Salvador de Jujuy 🇦🇷 ArgentinaLandslide season, 1 Jan – 31 Mar (usually) · instead September74
  5. Ouro Preto 🇧🇷 BrazilLandslide season, 1 Dec – 31 Mar (usually) · instead September80

Rip currents & big surf on

4 places

Red flags for weeks at a time; the calm-looking water is the one that pulls people out.

  1. Vík 🇮🇸 IcelandRip currents & big surf, 15 Sep – 30 Apr (usually) — The black beach kills people. · instead July38
  2. Destin 🇺🇸 United StatesRip currents & big surf, 1 Mar – 31 Oct · instead May79
  3. Palomino 🇨🇴 ColombiaRip currents & big surf, 1 Jan – 31 Dec · instead January63
  4. Raglan 🇳🇿 New ZealandRip currents & big surf, 1 Dec – 31 Mar (usually) · instead February83

Sargassum season on

3 places

The months the seaweed comes ashore on Caribbean and Gulf beaches.

  1. Fort-de-France MartiniqueSargassum season, 1 Mar – 30 Sep (usually) · instead February90
  2. Pointe-à-Pitre GuadeloupeSargassum season, 1 Mar – 30 Sep (usually) · instead March90
  3. Punta Cana 🇩🇴 Dominican RepublicSargassum season, 15 Mar – 31 Aug (usually) · instead January92

Algae & red tide on

2 places

Blooms that close beaches and clear the water of fish for a few weeks; not the Caribbean weed.

  1. Boracay 🇵🇭 PhilippinesAlgae & red tide, 15 Feb – 31 May (usually) · instead April85
  2. Sarasota 🇺🇸 United StatesAlgae & red tide, 1 Sep – 1 Mar (usually) · instead March92

Out of range by the numbers

Every destination whose March normals cross a line the comfort score will not forgive: 18 or more rainy days, afternoons that feel like 35 °C, air in the poor band, or well below freezing. Worst first.

Too wet by the numbers

256 places

Eighteen or more rainy days, or a soaked month by volume — the real rainy season, not afternoon showers.

  1. Aguas Calientes 🇵🇪 Peru31 rainy days, 296 mm · instead July68
  2. Ollantaytambo 🇵🇪 Peru31 rainy days, 263 mm · instead July72
  3. Quito 🇪🇨 Ecuador30 rainy days, 360 mm · instead August57
  4. Denpasar 🇮🇩 Indonesia30 rainy days, 317 mm · instead August66
  5. Nusa Penida 🇮🇩 Indonesia30 rainy days, 317 mm · instead August68
  6. Arequipa 🇵🇪 Peru29 rainy days, 204 mm · instead September73
  7. Jakarta 🇮🇩 Indonesia29 rainy days, 242 mm · instead August53
  8. Darjeeling 🇮🇳 India29 rainy days, 315 mm · instead November65

…and 248 more, 100 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own March verdict.

Too hot by the numbers

161 places

Afternoons that feel like 35 °C or more, or heat the humidity turns sticky. A dry, sunny month cannot average this away.

  1. Bangkok 🇹🇭 Thailand40°C afternoons · instead December60
  2. Kochi 🇮🇳 India40°C afternoons · instead January68
  3. Krabi 🇹🇭 Thailand40°C afternoons · instead February87
  4. Langkawi 🇲🇾 Malaysia40°C afternoons · instead February86
  5. Phnom Penh 🇰🇭 Cambodia40°C afternoons · instead January63
  6. Phuket 🇹🇭 Thailand40°C afternoons · instead February88
  7. Siem Reap 🇰🇭 Cambodia40°C afternoons · instead January65
  8. Yangon 🇲🇲 Myanmar40°C afternoons · instead January59

…and 153 more, 59 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own March verdict.

Too cold by the numbers

24 places

Afternoons that feel like −5 °C or below. Fine for a ski trip; not for walking a city.

  1. Churchill 🇨🇦 Canada-20°C afternoons · instead July40
  2. Ilulissat 🇬🇱 Greenland-11°C afternoons · instead July42
  3. Leh 🇮🇳 India-7°C afternoons · instead August52
  4. Levi 🇫🇮 Finland-7°C afternoons · instead March87
  5. Ruka 🇫🇮 Finland-7°C afternoons · instead March88
  6. Killington 🇺🇸 United States-6°C afternoons · instead March92
  7. Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky 🇷🇺 Russia-6°C afternoons · instead July50
  8. Gates of the Arctic National Park 🇺🇸 United States-23°C afternoons · instead July42

…and 16 more, all lesser-known. Every destination page carries its own March verdict.

Bad air by the numbers

41 places

A monthly mean air-quality index in the poor or unhealthy bands.

  1. Riyadh 🇸🇦 Saudi ArabiaAQI 183, unhealthy air · instead February87
  2. Jeddah 🇸🇦 Saudi ArabiaAQI 169, unhealthy air · instead January92
  3. Mecca 🇸🇦 Saudi ArabiaAQI 167, unhealthy air · instead January78
  4. Delhi 🇮🇳 IndiaAQI 142, poor air · instead February78
  5. Agra 🇮🇳 IndiaAQI 141, poor air · instead February80
  6. Chengdu 🇨🇳 ChinaAQI 141, poor air · instead April83
  7. Beijing 🇨🇳 ChinaAQI 139, poor air · instead April77
  8. Chongqing 🇨🇳 ChinaAQI 133, poor air · instead March81

…and 33 more, 10 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own March verdict.

Peak crowds

7 places

The editor's peak month for the place: full, expensive, and booked well ahead.

  1. Cancún 🇲🇽 MexicoPeak crowds — US spring break · instead March93
  2. Miami 🇺🇸 United StatesPeak crowds — Spring break · instead April91
  3. Cartagena 🇨🇴 ColombiaPeak crowds — Cartagena film festival · instead January89
  4. Kathmandu 🇳🇵 NepalPeak crowds — Holi · instead November88
  5. Phuket 🇹🇭 ThailandPeak crowds — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it · instead February88
  6. Malé 🇲🇻 MaldivesPeak crowds — Eid al-Fitr · instead February85
  7. Ho Chi Minh City 🇻🇳 VietnamPeak crowds — Dry season · instead February68

Closed for the season

1 place

Hotels, lifts, ferries or the sights themselves shut for the month.

  1. Denpasar 🇮🇩 Indonesiasome of the town shuts for the month · instead August66