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In March 2026, the sea surface temperature (SST) anomaly pattern generally reflected ENSO-neutral conditions, characterized by warmer to slightly warmer SSTs across much of the monitored Niño regions, alongside the residual cooling in the central equatorial Pacific.

Warm to slightly warm SST anomalies were present in the Philippine Sea, as well as in both the monitored northern and southern regions of the Tripole Pacific Index (TPI).

Meanwhile, considerable parts of the central North Pacific were considerably warmer, indicative of a negative PDO.

In the Indian Ocean, slightly warmer SST anomalies are observed in the tropical western Indian Ocean (i.e., WIO), while average to slightly cooler SST anomalies were observed in the eastern Indian Ocean (i.e., EIO), reflecting a neutral dipole pattern. In general, there is no prominent tropical Indian Ocean-wide SST anomaly (i.e., IOBW).

Lastly, the tropical North Atlantic (i.e., TNA) indicates average to slightly cooler SST anomalies.

The maps on the right (top to bottom) indicate the observed SST for March 2026 and the climatological normal from 1991 to 2020, providing context for the SST anomaly maps.