Places to avoid in March

Monsoon on50 places

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

• 🇦🇺 Kakadu · Australia — Monsoon, 1 Nov – 31 May (usually) · instead July
  42
• 🇮🇩 Yogyakarta · Indonesia — Monsoon, 1 Nov – 31 Mar (usually) — Long afternoon storms roll off Merapi and the Prambanan open-air stage moves indoors for the season. · instead July
  49
• 🇪🇨 Quito · Ecuador — Monsoon, 1 Oct – 31 May (usually) · instead August
  57
• 🇲🇬 Nosy Be · Madagascar — Monsoon, 1 Dec – 31 Mar (usually) — Heavy afternoon rain, dive visibility down and a good share of the smaller hotels closed until after Easter. · instead July
  60
• 🇳🇦 Sossusvlei · Namibia — Monsoon, 1 Jan – 31 Mar (usually) · instead July
  64
• 🇮🇩 Labuan Bajo · Indonesia — Monsoon, 1 Dec – 15 Mar (usually) · instead August
  65

…and 44 more, 32 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own March verdict.

Cyclone season on47 places

The southern-hemisphere storm season.

• 🇫🇯 Nadi · Fiji — Cyclone season, 1 Nov – 30 Apr — The South Pacific storm season, at its most active in January and February. · instead July
  59
• 🇲🇬 Nosy Be · Madagascar — Cyclone season, 15 Dec – 31 Mar (usually) · instead July
  60
• 🇦🇺 Port Douglas · Australia — Cyclone season, 1 Nov – 30 Apr — November to April brings the rain and the cyclone risk together. · instead September
  60
• 🇦🇺 Cairns · Australia — Cyclone season, 1 Nov – 30 Apr — November to April is the cyclone half of the year. · instead October
  66
• 🇲🇬 Antananarivo · Madagascar — Cyclone season, 15 Nov – 15 Apr (usually) · instead September
  71
• Avarua · Cook Islands — Cyclone season, 1 Nov – 30 Apr — November to April is the South Pacific storm season, with the peak between December and February. · instead November
  75

…and 41 more, 11 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own March verdict.

Dust season on34 places

Spring dust and sandstorms; sensitive lungs stay in.

• 🇪🇸 Sierra Nevada · Spain — Dust season, 15 Feb – 15 Jun (usually) · instead January
  51
• 🇲🇳 Ulaanbaatar · Mongolia — Dust season, 15 Mar – 31 May (usually) · instead June
  53
• 🇪🇸 Málaga · Spain — Dust season, 1 Mar – 31 Aug (usually) · instead September
  73
• 🇯🇵 Fukuoka · Japan — Dust 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 October
  74
• 🇰🇷 Seoul · South Korea — Dust 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 May
  74
• 🇨🇳 Beijing · China — Dust season, 1 Mar – 15 May (usually) · instead April
  77

…and 28 more, 14 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own March verdict.

Smoke season on31 places

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

• 🇦🇷 San Carlos de Bariloche · Argentina — Smoke season, 1 Dec – 31 Mar (usually) · instead July
  19
• 🇲🇳 Ulaanbaatar · Mongolia — Smoke season, 1 Nov – 31 Mar · instead June
  53
• 🇹🇭 Bangkok · Thailand — Smoke 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 December
  60
• 🇰🇿 Almaty · Kazakhstan — Smoke 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 September
  63
• 🇹🇭 Chiang Mai · Thailand — Smoke season, 1 Feb – 20 Apr (usually) · instead January
  65
• 🇱🇦 Luang Prabang · Laos — Smoke season, 1 Mar – 30 Apr (usually) · instead December
  70

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

Flood season on30 places

The river comes into the streets most years.

• 🇦🇺 Uluru · Australia — Flood season, 1 Dec – 15 Mar (usually) · instead July
  55
• 🇧🇷 Foz do Iguaçu · Brazil — Flood season, 1 Nov – 30 Apr (usually) · instead July
  59
• 🇩🇪 Hamburg · Germany — Flood season, 15 Sep – 31 Mar — The city counts its storm tide season from mid-September to the end of March. · instead August
  65
• 🇺🇸 Cincinnati · United States — Flood season, 1 Feb – 15 Apr (usually) · instead September
  66
• 🇩🇪 Cologne · Germany — Flood season, 1 Dec – 31 Mar (usually) · instead June
  67
• 🇵🇪 Aguas Calientes · Peru — Flood season, 1 Jan – 31 Mar (usually) · instead July
  68

…and 24 more, 10 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own March verdict.

Storm season on15 places

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

• 🇳🇴 Svolvær · Norway — Storm season, 15 Oct – 15 Mar (usually) · instead July
  39
• Tórshavn · Faroe Islands — Storm season, 1 Oct – 31 Mar (usually) · instead July
  60
• 🇦🇺 Brisbane · Australia — Storm season, 1 Nov – 30 Apr — Queensland's storm season runs November to April. · instead September
  64
• 🇺🇸 St. Louis · United States — Storm season, 15 Mar – 15 Jun (usually) · instead May
  69
• 🇮🇳 Kolkata · India — Storm season, 20 Mar – 20 May (usually) · instead January
  71
• 🇺🇸 Nashville · United States — Storm season, 15 Mar – 20 May (usually) · instead May
  73

…and 9 more, 6 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own March verdict.

Winter smog on14 places

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

• 🇵🇱 Warsaw · Poland — Winter smog, 1 Nov – 15 Mar (usually) · instead June
  64
• 🇵🇱 Kraków · Poland — Winter smog, 1 Nov – 15 Mar (usually) · instead June
  65
• 🇵🇱 Zakopane · Poland — Winter smog, 15 Nov – 15 Mar (usually) · instead January
  69
• 🇷🇸 Belgrade · Serbia — Winter smog, 1 Nov – 15 Mar (usually) · instead May
  74
• 🇮🇹 Turin · Italy — Winter 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 September
  74
• 🇵🇱 Łódź · Poland — Winter smog, 1 Nov – 15 Mar (usually) · instead June
  64

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

Avalanche season on14 places

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

• 🇬🇧 Aviemore · United Kingdom — Avalanche season, 15 Dec – 15 Apr (usually) · instead January
  62
• 🇬🇪 Mestia · Georgia — Avalanche season, 15 Nov – 15 May (usually) · instead September
  67
• 🇬🇧 Fort William · United Kingdom — Avalanche season, 15 Dec – 15 Apr (usually) — The Lochaber forecast runs from mid-December to mid-April and covers Ben Nevis and the Aonachs. · instead May
  68
• 🇬🇪 Kazbegi · Georgia — Avalanche season, 1 Dec – 15 Apr (usually) · instead September
  71
• 🇩🇪 Berchtesgaden · Germany — Avalanche season, 1 Jan – 15 Apr (usually) · instead September
  76
• 🇮🇹 Cortina d'Ampezzo · Italy — Avalanche season, 15 Dec – 10 Apr (usually) · instead January
  76

…and 8 more, 7 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own March verdict.

Extreme cold on11 places

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

• 🇺🇸 Detroit · United States — Extreme 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 September
  62
• 🇺🇸 Cleveland · United States — Extreme cold, 15 Nov – 15 Mar · instead September
  63
• 🇦🇺 Cradle Mountain · Australia — Extreme 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 January
  82
• 🇦🇩 Soldeu · Andorra — Extreme cold, 1 Dec – 31 Mar · instead January
  83
• 🇷🇺 Magadan · Russia — Extreme cold, 1 Dec – 5 Mar (usually) · instead July
  39
• 🇷🇺 Yakutsk · Russia — Extreme cold, 20 Nov – 5 Mar (usually) · instead June
  40

…and 5 more, all lesser-known. Every destination page carries its own March verdict.

Extreme heat on8 places

The weeks the city lives indoors.

• 🇦🇺 Uluru · Australia — Extreme heat, 1 Nov – 31 Mar (usually) · instead July
  55
• 🇲🇲 Yangon · Myanmar — Extreme heat, 1 Mar – 15 May (usually) · instead January
  59
• 🇮🇳 Hyderabad · India — Extreme 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 January
  62
• 🇮🇳 Bengaluru · India — Extreme heat, 1 Mar – 25 May (usually) · instead January
  79
• 🇦🇺 Adelaide · Australia — Extreme heat, 15 Nov – 15 Mar (usually) · instead November
  92
• 🇹🇩 N'Djamena · Chad — Extreme heat, 20 Mar – 10 Jun (usually) · instead January
  43

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

Sargassum season on3 places

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

• Fort-de-France · Martinique — Sargassum season, 1 Mar – 30 Sep (usually) · instead February
  90
• Pointe-à-Pitre · Guadeloupe — Sargassum season, 1 Mar – 30 Sep (usually) · instead March
  90
• 🇩🇴 Punta Cana · Dominican Republic — Sargassum season, 15 Mar – 31 Aug (usually) · instead January
  92

Algae & red tide on2 places

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

• 🇵🇭 Boracay · Philippines — Algae & red tide, 15 Feb – 31 May (usually) · instead April
  85
• 🇺🇸 Sarasota · United States — Algae & red tide, 1 Sep – 1 Mar (usually) · instead March
  92

Too wet by the numbers251 places

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

• 🇵🇪 Aguas Calientes · Peru — 31 rainy days, 296 mm · instead July
  68
• 🇵🇪 Ollantaytambo · Peru — 31 rainy days, 263 mm · instead July
  72
• 🇪🇨 Quito · Ecuador — 30 rainy days, 360 mm · instead August
  57
• 🇮🇩 Denpasar · Indonesia — 30 rainy days, 317 mm · instead August
  66
• 🇮🇩 Nusa Penida · Indonesia — 30 rainy days, 317 mm · instead August
  68
• 🇵🇪 Arequipa · Peru — 29 rainy days, 204 mm · instead September
  73
• 🇮🇩 Jakarta · Indonesia — 29 rainy days, 242 mm · instead August
  53
• 🇮🇳 Darjeeling · India — 29 rainy days, 315 mm · instead November
  65

…and 243 more, 100 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own March verdict.

Too hot by the numbers160 places

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

• 🇹🇭 Bangkok · Thailand — 40°C afternoons · instead December
  60
• 🇮🇳 Kochi · India — 40°C afternoons · instead January
  68
• 🇹🇭 Krabi · Thailand — 40°C afternoons · instead February
  87
• 🇲🇾 Langkawi · Malaysia — 40°C afternoons · instead February
  86
• 🇰🇭 Phnom Penh · Cambodia — 40°C afternoons · instead January
  63
• 🇹🇭 Phuket · Thailand — 40°C afternoons · instead February
  88
• 🇰🇭 Siem Reap · Cambodia — 40°C afternoons · instead January
  65
• 🇲🇲 Yangon · Myanmar — 40°C afternoons · instead January
  59

…and 152 more, 59 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own March verdict.

Too cold by the numbers24 places

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

• 🇨🇦 Churchill · Canada — -20°C afternoons · instead July
  40
• 🇬🇱 Ilulissat · Greenland — -11°C afternoons · instead July
  42
• 🇮🇳 Leh · India — -7°C afternoons · instead August
  52
• 🇫🇮 Levi · Finland — -7°C afternoons · instead March
  87
• 🇫🇮 Ruka · Finland — -7°C afternoons · instead March
  88
• 🇺🇸 Killington · United States — -6°C afternoons · instead March
  92
• 🇷🇺 Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky · Russia — -6°C afternoons · instead July
  50
• 🇺🇸 Gates of the Arctic National Park · United States — -23°C afternoons · instead July
  42

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

Bad air by the numbers40 places

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

• 🇸🇦 Riyadh · Saudi Arabia — AQI 183, unhealthy air · instead February
  87
• 🇸🇦 Jeddah · Saudi Arabia — AQI 169, unhealthy air · instead January
  92
• 🇸🇦 Mecca · Saudi Arabia — AQI 167, unhealthy air · instead January
  78
• 🇮🇳 Delhi · India — AQI 142, poor air · instead February
  78
• 🇮🇳 Agra · India — AQI 141, poor air · instead February
  80
• 🇨🇳 Chengdu · China — AQI 141, poor air · instead April
  83
• 🇨🇳 Beijing · China — AQI 139, poor air · instead April
  77
• 🇨🇳 Chongqing · China — AQI 133, poor air · instead March
  81

…and 32 more, 10 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own March verdict.