The existence of a signal of the 11-year solar cycle in the geopotential heights of the lower half of the stratosphere implies, through hydrostatic argument, an association with the temperatures in the troposphere. We have defined this association for the layer between 750hPa and 200hPa by means of the NCEP/NCAR re-analyses for the period 1958--1997. In the zonal average it is estimated to be 0.15 ¿C--0.2 ¿C for the whole of the Northern Hemisphere in summer, and about the same for the tropics-subtropics in March--December. ¿ 1999 American Geophysical Union