Ionospheric potential as a proxy index for global temperature

Abstract Since the global circuit is maintained by currents from thunderstorms and electrified clouds, which are controlled by temperature, we are investigating the use of ionospheric potential ( V I ) as a measure of the variation of global temperature. We report positive correlation between V I and global temperature obtained from three different data sets. V I is also positively correlated with an inferred global lightning/deep cloud index which is positively correlated with global temperature. Thus, there is a consistent picture of warmer temperatures leading to more deep convection and higher V I . Since a series of single V I soundings at any appropriate location may provide a globally representative measure of temperature variation in real time, it is suggested that routine monitoring of this parameter could provide considerable cost and operational advantages compared to current methodology involving observations at thousands of ground stations and satellite radiation measurements.