March 2026: Blood Moon and the Spring Equinox
March 2026 changed the season in the middle of a war. A total lunar eclipse on the 3rd turned the full moon blood-red over eastern Asia, Australia and the Americas. The equinox on the 20th opened astronomical spring in the Northern Hemisphere. Iran began 40 days of mourning for Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. He was killed in the US-Israeli strikes of February 28. Under it all sits a 31-day grid that opens on a Sunday and ends on a Tuesday.
The front-loaded month
March 2026 runs from Sunday, March 1 to Tuesday, March 31. The early week runs the show: five Sundays, five Mondays and five Tuesdays, against four each of the rest. Business days total 22, weekend days 9, across weeks 9 to 14. Friday the 13th lands on March 13, the second of three in 2026.
Most of North America sprang its clocks forward on March 8. The UK and most of Europe waited until the 29th. For three weeks the Atlantic could not agree on the hour.
The moon runs full on the 3rd, last quarter on the 11th, new on the 19th. First quarter follows on the 25th.
Trophies on grass and ice
India retained the Men's T20 World Cup on March 8, beating New Zealand by 96 runs in Ahmedabad. India became the first team to take three titles and the first to win back-to-back cups.
The Winter Paralympics ran at Verona's Arena from the 6th to the 15th, with China topping the medals. On the Sunday India won, North America was also losing an hour of sleep to the clocks. India clearly got the better deal.
Hollywood closed awards season on March 15, at the 98th Academy Awards. One Battle After Another won six Oscars, including Best Picture. Sinners took four awards from a record 16 nominations.
War and oil
The Iran war ran through its second month. Brent crude climbed above 100 dollars a barrel on March 8, the first time in four years.
On the 4th, the submarine USS Charlotte sank the Iranian frigate Dena off Sri Lanka. At least 87 of the roughly 180 people aboard were killed. Iran's Assembly of Experts elected Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the late leader, as the third Supreme Leader on the 9th.
The wider month held more grief. The Rubaya mines in eastern DR Congo collapsed again on the 3rd, as they had in January. More than 200 people died, roughly 70 of them minors.
On the 16th, Pakistani airstrikes destroyed a hospital in Kabul. Afghan officials reported more than 400 killed; independent counts documented at least 100.
A blood moon on the 3rd, a trophy for India on the 8th and spring on the 20th. March 2026 kept its appointments.