Turkey weather in March
March is the turn. The south and west start to feel like walking weather while the interior still thinks it is winter. Ruins on the Aegean and Mediterranean are pleasant. The sea is not the point yet, even when the sky looks like a holiday.
This is a good month to stitch a coast town to an inland site without both of them being too hot or too dead. Cappadocia nights are still coat weather. Istanbul is spring only on the optimistic days.
Of the twelve months in Turkey, March is the fourth coldest, the third wettest and the fifth dullest.
- Average temp
- 7°C (45°F)
2–13°C · 35–55°F
- Rainfall
- 44 mm
Not much rain
- Sunshine
- 5.4 h
hours per day
What is Turkey like in March?
Daytime
Mild afternoons on the Aegean and Mediterranean, still a jacket morning and night inland. You can eat outside in Antalya and wish you had not in Ankara.
Walking Ephesus or the harbours around Kas and Kalkan is the right speed. Long beach days are a stretch. The light is good for photography, which is a polite way of saying it is not yet high-summer glare.
Rain
Winter rain is easing but not gone. The Black Sea keeps its own wetter pattern and will not follow the Antalya script.
On the south coast you get more usable dry days than in January, interrupted by the odd squall. Do not build a trekking week that cannot survive a wet afternoon.
Evening
Evenings are cooler. A layer helps after sunset.
What should I pack for Turkey in March?
A warm mid-layer
Nights drop to around 2°C (35°F).
March compared with February and April
March in Turkey is 4°C warmer than February and about as wet as it, which averages 3°C (37°F).
March in Turkey is 4.6°C cooler than April and about as wet as it, which averages 12°C (53°F).
Daylight in Turkey in March
On 15 March the sun is up for 11 hours 56 minutes in Turkey, rising about 06:59 and setting about 18:55 local time.
March ends 1 hour 19 minutes longer than it begins, so the last week of the month is a different length of day from the first.
That is 3 hours 4 minutes short of June, the longest-lit month here.
Turkey weather by month
TemperatureRainfall
How March compares with the rest of the year
March is highlighted. Every other month links to its own page.
| Month | Average | Rainfall |
|---|---|---|
| January | 2°C / 35°F | 36 mm |
| February | 3°C / 37°F | 37 mm |
| March | 7°C / 45°F | 44 mm |
| April | 12°C / 53°F | 49 mm |
| May | 17°C / 62°F | 49 mm |
| June | 21°C / 69°F | 36 mm |
| July | 24°C / 76°F | 15 mm |
| August | 24°C / 76°F | 13 mm |
| September | 20°C / 67°F | 19 mm |
| October | 14°C / 58°F | 33 mm |
| November | 8°C / 47°F | 33 mm |
| December | 4°C / 38°F | 42 mm |
Similar weather in March
Other destinations whose March averages sit close to this one.
Check another month
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FAQs about Turkey in March
March climate averages for Turkey, 1991–2020.
Turkey averages 7°C (45°F) in March, ranging from about 2°C (35°F) at night to 13°C (55°F) in the afternoon. That is a 1991–2020 average, so an individual week can run either side of it.
Barely. March sees only about 44 mm, so rain is unlikely to affect your plans.
No. March averages 7°C (45°F) against 12°C (53°F) in April — 4.6°C cooler.
March is 4°C warmer than February, and about as wet.
It is outside the easiest window. The most comfortable stretch here is May to October; March sits outside it, which usually means more heat, more rain, or both — worth it if you would rather have the place to yourself.
About 5.4 hours of sun a day on the 1991–2020 average.
This page does not show today's weather. It is a 1991–2020 climate normal from Meteostat — a long-run average of what March is usually like, which is what you want when booking months ahead. For today or the coming week, check a live forecast.
About 11 hours 56 minutes of daylight in mid-March, against 15 hours in June and 9 hours 21 minutes in December.
On 15 March, sunrise is about 06:59 and sunset about 18:55 local time. Both shift across the month — the month ends 1 hour 19 minutes longer than it starts.
