High Heaton Weather and Air Quality – March 2026

Weather

It may seem surprising, but March 2026 was much milder than average. The average temperature for the month was 7.8°C which is significantly higher than the mean for March which is 6.3°C. Indeed, there has been only one March in the last 35 years which was warmer than 2026, and that was in 2012 when the average was 8.5°C. The perception that it was a cold month, is partly because was a very windy month, which meant that it often felt much colder than the thermometer showed. Winds of 20mph or greater were recorded on 21 days, with the highest gust of 45mph occurring on Thursday 12^th.  The wind also kept the frost away at night with the temperature falling below zero on only one night. The month’s maximum temperature was 18.3°C at 3.45pm on Tuesday 17^th, and the minimum temperature was -1.9°C at 7am on Saturday 7^th.  Total rainfall was 47mm, which is 20% more than the average for March, but nevertheless it was the driest month since last August. Historically, March is our driest month of the year with an average rainfall of 39mm.

Air Quality

This was the third successive month in which the average PM2.5 particle concentration was above the WHO target of 10µg/m³. The March value was 11µg, with Thursday 5^th being the worst day with an average concentration of 45 µg/m³. In terms of the Air Quality Index, we were in one of the ‘moderate’ categories on three days, which meant that those people with lung or heart conditions should reduce physical exertion when outdoors.

John Telfer