Statistical relationships between the surface air temperature anomalies and the solar and geomagnetic activity indices

Abstract: Statistical analysis of the data series from 1856 to 2000 for the annual global and hemispheric surface air temperature anomalies is completed. Statistically significant correlations are found between global and hemispheric temperature anomalies and solar and geomagnetic indices. The temperature anomalies in the Northern and Southern hemispheres show similar statistical relations with the solar and geomagnetic indices. The cross-correlation analysis shows no statistically significant global temperature lag behind the sunspots as well as behind aa-indices. The correlation between the temperature anomalies and the geomagnetic indices is about two times higher than the correlation between the temperature anomalies and the solar indices. These results support the suggestion that the geomagnetic forcing predominates over the solar activity forcing on the global and hemispheric surface air temperatures.