Does the Dayside Equatorial Ionospheric Electric Field Respond to Isolated Substorms?

Abstract Substorms are known to induce global magnetosphere‐ionosphere coupling. However, the specific response of the dayside ionospheric electric field and its influence on the equatorial electrojet (EEJ) remain controversial. This study investigates the electromagnetic field response in the dayside equatorial region during isolated substorms using ground magnetic field data. Statistical analysis revealed that the H component decreased at equatorial and low‐latitude stations during isolated substorms. These decreases were of similar magnitude on average, indicating that significant changes in the EEJ caused by penetrating electric fields were not observed. However, individual events showed slight positive and negative variations. These results suggest that substorm‐associated electric fields can reach equatorial regions, but additional conditions determine the positive and negative variations. This finding provides new insights into the spatial extent of substorm‐induced electric fields.