Abstract
We study time evolution of the relationship between sunspot numbers and global temperatures between 1880 and 2016 using wavelet coherence framework. The results suggest that the relationship is stable in time.
Changes in the sunspot numbers precede changes in the temperatures by more than two years as suggested by the wavelet phase differences. This leading position of the sun activity is stable in time as well.
However, the relationship has been disturbed by increasing CO2 emissions since 1960s. Without controlling for the effect of possible global warming, or more precisely the positive connection between increasing CO2 emissions and the global temperatures, the findings would have been quite different.
Combination of the cointegration analysis and wavelet coherence framework has enabled uncovering a hidden relationship between the solar activity and global temperatures, and possibly explaining equivocal results in the topical literature.